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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
The coup removed political decision making from the control
of the civilian politicians. Abbud created the Supreme Council of
the Armed Forces to rule Sudan. This body contained officers
affiliated with the Ansar and the Khatmiyyah. Abbud belonged to
the Khatmiyyah, whereas Abd al Wahab was a member of the Ansar.
Until Abd al Wahab's removal in March 1959, the Ansar were the
stronger of the two groups in the government.
The regime benefited during its first year in office from
successful marketing of the cotton crop. Abbud also profited from
the settlement of the Nile waters dispute with Egypt and the
improvement of relations between the two countries. Under the
military regime, the influence of the Ansar and the Khatmiyyah
lessened. The strongest religious leader, Abd ar Rahman al Mahdi,
died in early 1959. His son and successor, the elder Sadiq al
Mahdi, failed to enjoy the respect accorded his father. When
Sadiq died two years later, Ansar religious and political
leadership divided between his brother, Imam Al Hadi al Mahdi,
and his son, the younger Sadiq al Mahdi.
Despite the Abbud regime's early successes, opposition
elements remained powerful. In 1959 dissident military officers
made three attempts to displace the Abbud government and to
establish a "popular government." Although the courts sentenced
the leaders of these attempted coups to life imprisonment,
discontent in the military continued to hamper the government's
performance. In particular, the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP),
which supported the attempted coups, gained a reputation as an
effective antigovernment organization. To compound its problems,
the Abbud regime lacked dynamism and the ability to stabilize the
country. Its failure to place capable civilian advisers in
positions of authority, to launch a credible economic and social
development program, and to gain the army's support created an
atmosphere that encouraged political turbulence.
Abbud's southern policy proved to be his undoing. The
government suppressed expressions of religious and cultural
differences and bolstered attempts to arabize society. In
February 1964, for example, Abbud ordered the mass explusion of
foreign missionaries from the south. He then closed parliament to
cut off outlets for southern complaints. Southern leaders had
renewed in 1963 the armed struggle against the Sudanese
government that had continued sporadically since 1955. The
rebellion was spearheaded from 1963 by guerrilla forces known as
the Anya Nya (the name of a poisonous concoction).
Data as of June 1991
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