1971 Sudanese coup d'état

none June 2022 1971 Sudanese coup d'état the First Sudanese Civil War, the Cold War, and the Arab Cold War Hashem al Atta, 1971 Sudanese coup d'état.jpg Hashem al-Atta under arrest on 23 July, following the counter-coup by Nimeiry loyalists. 19–22 July 1971 Khartoum, Sudan 15.633333 32.533333 type:event inline Sudan (2005-2011) yes Location within Sudan. Coup attempt fails Nimeiry restored as head of statehttps://sudantribune.com/article/57995 Sudan and military coups SudanTribune 23 July 2016https://sudantribune.com/article/65989 Sudanese generals are no stranger to coup d’états and attempts SudanTribune 29 July 2019https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/25/archives/sudan-coup-raises-question-on-arabred-tie.html Sudan Coup Raises Question on Arab‐Red Tie New York Times 25 July 1971 Anti-communist purges by government forces Execution of rebelling officers and civilian leaders Consolidation of Nimeiry's authoritarian control 19 July 1971: Sudan Democratic Republic of Sudan Sudan National Revolutionary Command Council Flag of the Sudanese Army (1956–present).svg Sudanese Armed Forces 19 July 1971–22 July 1971: Flag of the Sudanese Army (1956–present).svg Loyalist Nimeiry military units of the Sudanese Armed Forces Libya 1969 Libya 19 July 1971: July Rectification Movementhttps://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/nimeiri-takes-charge-khartoum Nimeiri Takes Charge in Khartoum EBSCO Sudanese Communist Party flag.png Sudanese Communist Party (military wing) 19 July 1971–22 July 1971: Sudan Democratic Sudan Sudan Revolutionary Council Flag of the Sudanese Army (1956–present).svg Sudanese Armed Forces Sudanese Communist Party flag.png Sudanese Communist Party (military wing) Sudan Gaafar NimeirySudan Khalid Hassan Abbas Sudanese Communist Party flag.png Hashem al-AttaSudanese Communist Party flag.png Babikir al-Nur OsmanSudanese Communist Party flag.png Farouk HamadallahSudanese Communist Party flag.png Abdel Khaliq MahjubSudanese Communist Party flag.png Joseph Garang Major Hashem al-Atta led a coup d'état in Sudan on 19 July 1971 against the government of President Gaafar Nimeiry.Korn 1993 87Joffe 2009 While the coup was led by officers associated with the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), the party's central committee and its General Secretary, Abdel Khaliq Mahjub, had not given prior approval for the military action.Niblock 1987 256 The coup briefly toppled the administration of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan and established a Revolutionary Council. However, it failed to garner sufficient domestic or regional support. After three days in captivity, Nimeiry loyalists launched a successful counter-coup, freeing the deposed president and dismantling al-Atta's government.Korn 1993 88The Telegraph 2009 Following his restoration, Nimeiry initiated a sweeping purge of the military, civil service, and the SCP leadership, consolidating absolute authority within the presidency and shifting Sudan's geopolitical alignment away from the Soviet Union.Korn 1993 88Crowder 1984 533Wheeler 2009 Background History of Sudan (1969–85) thumb|Nimeiry, Nasser, and Gaddafi in Tripoli, 1969 Under the influence of leftist officers who had backed his May 1969 takeover, President Nimeiry initially aligned Sudan with the Soviet Union, reorienting trade toward the Eastern Bloc and nationalizing banks and large business holdings. The Soviets responded by supplying military equipment and advisors to train the Sudanese army.Korn 1993 86 However, by early 1971, Nimeiry had grown deeply disappointed with the results of this partnership. Soviet manufactured goods were often shoddy and overvalued; for instance, Soviet tires were priced 30% higher than Japanese ones, and earth-moving equipment was 55% more expensive than similar Italian machinery. Additionally, Soviet tractors proved unsuitable for Sudan's hot climate, frequently breaking down.Korn 1993 86 A central internal fracture between Nimeiry and the left revolved around political organization. Nimeiry demanded that the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) dissolve itself and integrate into a planned single-party system, the Sudanese Socialist Union (SSU).Niblock 1987 250-253 The orthodox wing of the SCP, led by General Secretary Abdel Khaliq Mahjub, firmly opposed dissolution, advocating instead for a "national democratic front" that would preserve the party's political independence and its hegemony over trade and tenant unions.Niblock 1987 250 In contrast, a pragmatist nationalist faction within the party, led by Mu'awiyah Ibrahim, advocated for unconditional cooperation and integration into the military regime.Crowder 1984 533Niblock 1987 250-253 Following the breakdown of these negotiations, Nimeiry moved decisively against the SCP in February 1971, ordering the arrest of the central committee and banning communist-affiliated mass organizations.Korn 1993 87Niblock 1987 255 In response, communist-aligned officers launched a preemptive strike before the party could be entirely dismantled. Events The 19 July mutiny and initial takeover The coup began in the mid-afternoon of 19 July 1971, taking advantage of the relative quiet in Khartoum as many Sudanese retired from the scorching sun for the traditional afternoon siesta. Major Hashem al-Atta moved tanks into positions around government buildings, capturing the Presidential Palace and taking Nimeiry and several dozen of his followers prisoner.Korn 1993 87The Telegraph 2009 Al-Atta immediately declared himself, Colonel Babikir al-Nur Osman, and Major Farouk Hamadallah in charge of the government, proclaiming a new Revolutionary Council. Although the officers denied being communists, their government's first executive act was to lift the ban that Nimeiry had placed on the SCP and its affiliated organizations. In a radio broadcast, al-Atta stated that the new regime would link Sudan more closely with socialist countries and bring communists into a coalition government.Korn 1993 87 Although it is suspected that Mahjub was likely aware of the coup attempt and failed to prevent it, most members of the SCP’s political bureau and central committee had not previously endorsed al-Atta’s initiative, nor did they participate directly in it.Niblock 1987 256 Initial domestic response was muted; the coup met no immediate resistance from the Sudanese Armed Forces, while communist sympathizers staged pro-coup demonstrations in the capital. However, a significant logistical hurdle remained: al-Atta's co-leaders, al-Nur and Hamadallah, were in London for medical treatment. Upon learning of the coup's success, the two officers prepared to fly home, with al-Nur slated to become the chief of state in the new regime.Korn 1993 87 International intervention and isolation Despite the ease with which al-Atta seized Khartoum, the coup possessed a narrow support base. While the SCP was the Arab world's largest communist party, it commanded the loyalty of only a relatively small element of the country's population. Most Sudanese were devout Muslims who considered communism abhorrent and viewed its supporters as dangerous atheists.Korn 1993 87 Crucially, the prospect of a communist state on the Red Sea alarmed neighboring powers. In Egypt, President Anwar Sadat sent a fact-finding mission to Khartoum and ordered Egyptian troops stationed south of the capital to resist the coup.Korn 1993 88 Saudi Arabia was similarly distressed by the leftist takeover, though its response remained clandestine.Korn 1993 88 The most decisive and spectacular intervention came from Muammar Gaddafi's Libya. Virulently anti-communist at the time, Gaddafi rallied to Nimeiry's support by dispatching Libyan fighter planes to intercept the British Airways jetliner on which al-Nur and Hamadallah were returning to Khartoum. Gaddafi had the two men removed from the aircraft and held under arrest.Korn 1993 88 Conversely, Ba'athist Iraq was the sole Arab government to publicly endorse the coup. Baghdad dispatched an airliner carrying an Iraqi delegation to congratulate al-Atta, but the aircraft exploded and crashed under mysterious circumstances while traversing Saudi airspace, further isolating the rebel government.Korn 1993 88 The counter-coup and collapse thumb|General Babikir al-Nur Osman being interrogated by Defense Minister Khalid Hassan Abbas following his extradition from Libya and the collapse of the coup. Unaware of Gaddafi's action, al-Atta traveled to the airport on the morning of 22 July expecting to welcome his co-leaders. Recognizing he was on shaky ground, al-Atta had ordered the army to immobilize its tanks in the Khartoum area and locked up the ammunition of soldiers whose loyalty was in doubt, measures reportedly advised by Soviet military attachés.Korn 1993 88 When al-Atta learned the plane from London would not arrive, he addressed a rally in central Khartoum. His desperate attempt to muster popular support failed; the crowd was thin, he was heckled, and there were calls for Nimeiry's return to power. Within hours, Sudanese army units loyal to Nimeiry moved into Khartoum and freed the president after a brief battle. Reportedly jumping from a window where he was incarcerated to meet his rescuers, Nimeiry regained control.Korn 1993 88Hevesi 2009 Gaddafi subsequently extradited al-Nur and Hamadallah to Sudan. All three coup leaders, along with half a dozen others, were summarily executed.Korn 1993 88The Washington Post 1971The Southeast Missourian 1971 3 Results Nimeiry narrowly escaped death and was furious with both the Sudanese communists and the Soviet Union, whom he blamed for the conspiracy, although later investigations suggested Moscow was likely not behind the move.Korn 1993 87–88 He ruthlessly crushed the Sudanese Communist Party, subjecting its members to wholesale arrests.Korn 1993 88 Beyond the military leaders, the regime executed the core civilian leadership of the Sudanese left, including SCP General Secretary Abdel Khaliq Mahjub, trade unionist Shafie Ahmed el Sheikh, and Minister for Southern Affairs Joseph Garang.Niblock 1987 256 The death of Garang ended the party's attempt to resolve the civil war through a class-based approach toward the South.Shillington 2005 1500 The coup triggered a permanent shift in Sudan's foreign policy. Nimeiry publicly denounced the Eastern Bloc, with the sole exception of Yugoslavia, and aligned Sudan more closely with the West.Korn 1993 88 Although diplomatic relations with the Soviets remained intact, they became considerably more tense, while relations with the U.S. and other Western European countries improved.Crowder 1984 551 Relations with Libya and Egypt also became strained, and the Nimeiry regime sought support from the more conservative states of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi.Crowder 1984 551 A provisional constitution formalized an executive presidential system to replace the RCC, and a plebiscite in October 1971 – where voting conditions did not ensure a secret ballot – elected Nimeiry to a six-year term as president with officially 98.6% of the approximately 4 million votes cast.The Telegraph 2009Crowder 1984 533Niblock 1987 262Lobban 1992 xlvii References Bibliography Crowder Michael The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 8: From c. 1940 to c. 1975 1984 Cambridge University Press Cambridge 978-0521224093 Gresh Alain 1989 The Free Officers And The Comrades: The Sudanese Communist Party And Nimeiri Face-To-Face, 1969–1971 https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0020743800032578/type/journal_article International Journal of Middle East Studies en 21 3 393–409 10.1017/S0020743800032578 0020-7438 subscription Korn David A. Assassination in Khartoum 1993 Indiana University Press Bloomington 978-0253332028 Lobban Richard A. Historical Dictionary of the Sudan 1992 Scarecrow Press Metuchen 978-0810825475 Niblock Tim Class and Power in Sudan: The Dynamics of Sudanese Politics, 1898–1985 1987 Palgrave Macmillan London 978-1-349-08836-2 Shillington Kevin Encyclopedia of African History 1 2005 Fitzroy Dearborn New York 978-1-57958-245-6 News sources 1971-07-23 Execute Leaders of Sudan Coup https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19710723&id=DWofAAAAIBAJ&pg=1133,2236526 The Southeast Missourian Cape Girardeau, Missouri 2026-03-25 The Southeast Missourian 1971 The Washington Post 1971-07-28 Communist Leader Sentenced By Military Court https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/flash/july/sudan71.htm The Washington Post 2026-03-26 Hevesi Dennis 11 June 2009 Gaafar al-Nimeiry, a Sudan Leader With Shifting Politics, Dies at 79 The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/world/africa/12nimeiry.html Joffe Lawrence 5 June 2009 Jaafar Nimeiri The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/05/obituary-jaafar-nimeiri The Telegraph 1 June 2009 Gaafar al-Nimeiry The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/5431188/Gaafar-al-Nimeiry.html Wheeler Skye 30 May 2009 Sudan's former president Nimeiri dies Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/world/africa/sudan-s-former-president-nimeiri-dies-idUSB565896/ Category:Communism in Sudan Category:Communist rebellions Coup d'état Category:1970s coups d'état Category:Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Category:Coups d'état in Sudan Category:Arab rebellions Category:July 1971 in Africa