National Reconciliation (Sudan)
This discontent culminated in the 1985 revolution, where mass protests and a general strike led to a bloodless military coup, ousting Nimeiri from power.
[1] Sadiq al-Mahdi joined the opposition and orchestrated a coup attempt in 1976, storming Khartoum with dissident forces led by Muhammad Nour Saad on 2 July.
Despite taking control initially, the rebel forces faced supply shortages and eventually succumbed to loyalist troops, ending the coup after a week.
In early 1977, government officials met with the National Front in London, and arranged for a conference between Nimeiri and Sadiq al Mahdi in Port Sudan.
The agreement also restored civil liberties, freed political prisoners, reaffirmed Sudan's nonaligned foreign policy, and promised to reform local government.
[7][8] As a result of the reconciliation, the government released about 1,000 detainees and granted an amnesty to Sadiq al Mahdi, who was sentenced to death in absentia.
[7][9] Hassan al-Turabi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood party an dean of law at the University of Khartoum who had been imprisoned and then exiled after the May Revolution,[9] was also released and became Justice Minister and Attorney General in 1979.
[7] Sharif Hussein al-Hindi, a previous Finance Minister who led the National Unionist Party, stood against the President's peace proposal.
[9][4] However, relations between Khartoum and the South Sudan leadership worsened after the National Reconciliation due to the shift to Sharia law,[10] and adopting Arabic as the country official language.
[11] Nimeiri's attempt at implementing an "Islamic path" in Sudan from 1977 to 1985, including aligning with religious factions, ultimately failed.
Tensions were further exacerbated by a history of mistrust and the fallout from a failed coup attempt in Khartoum in July 1976, in which Libyan elements played a role.
Sudan's involvement in brokering a ceasefire in February 1978 was short-lived, and Libya's claim to the resource-rich Aozou Strip only deepened regional tensions.
In December 1980, Libyan forces occupied Chad's capital, N'Djamena, leading to concerns about the possibility of a Chado-Libyan union, which raised alarm bells in Khartoum and Cairo.
Although a full-scale Libyan invasion was unlikely, Sudan remained cautious due to past Libyan-backed coup attempts and took measures like detentions and military deployments to protect its stability.
Chadian President Goukouni Oueddei appeared to request their withdrawal, which Gaddafi complied with, and they were replaced by an OAU peacekeeping force partially funded by France.
