Babikir al-Nur Osman

Babikir al-Nur was a member of the clandestine Free Officers organization within the Sudanese Armed Forces. On 25 May 1969, he actively participated in the military coup led by Gaafar Nimeiry, which overthrew the civilian government and established the Democratic Republic of the Sudan.^[1]

Following the takeover, al-Nur was appointed to the elite National Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), assuming ministerial portfolios related to the economy and planning. Within the military junta, he formed the core of the Marxist-Leninist wing alongside Major Hashem al-Atta and Major Farouk Osman Hamadallah. This faction maintained a strategic alliance with the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), advocating for a "national democratic revolution"—an orthodox Soviet-aligned theoretical framework that prioritized state-led economic centralization and a cross-class alliance against traditional sectarianism.^[2]

As Nimeiry consolidated an authoritarian nationalist project and attempted to purge communist influence from the state apparatus, internal contradictions within the RCC escalated. On 16 November 1970, Nimeiry ordered the dismissal and arrest of al-Nur, al-Atta, and Hamadallah, stripping them of all their military and political functions.^[3]

In July 1971, Babikir al-Nur traveled to London to receive medical treatment, accompanied by Farouk Hamadallah. During their absence, on the mid-afternoon of 19 July, Major Hashem al-Atta led a military mutiny in Khartoum, capturing the presidential palace and overthrowing Nimeiry.^[4][5]

In his initial radio broadcast, al-Atta abolished Nimeiry's administration and proclaimed the creation of a new revolutionary council. Although he was in Europe, Babikir al-Nur was declared the chairman of the new government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces due to his seniority and prestige among the troops.^[6] In London, al-Nur gave interviews to the international press endorsing the coup, guaranteeing that the new regime would restore the legality of the Communist Party and forge closer ties with the socialist bloc.

While the coup initially seemed a walkover and was celebrated by Sudanese communists, it lacked broad popular support among the predominantly devout Muslim population, who viewed the ideology with deep suspicion. Furthermore, the prospect of a communist state on the Red Sea severely alarmed neighboring powers. Iraq was the sole Arab government to endorse the new regime, whereas Egypt's Anwar Sadat immediately mobilized troops south of Khartoum to resist the communist takeover.^[7]

On 22 July, al-Nur and Hamadallah boarded British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Flight 041, a commercial VC10 jet traveling from London to Khartoum via Rome, to formally assume command of the country. Intervening directly to protect his ally Nimeiry, the strictly anti-communist Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, ordered Libyan Air Force fighter jets to intercept the British passenger plane in international airspace. The BOAC flight was forced to land in Benghazi, where Libyan soldiers boarded the aircraft, arrested al-Nur and Hamadallah, and temporarily confiscated the plane.^[6][8]

The capture of the coup's designated leader precipitated the collapse of the rebel government. Unaware of Gaddafi's intervention, Hashem al-Atta went to the Khartoum airport on the morning of 22 July to welcome al-Nur and Hamadallah. Realizing the plane would not arrive, al-Atta desperately attempted to rally a crowd in central Khartoum but faced heckling and demands for Nimeiry's return.^[8] Hours later, military units loyal to Nimeiry launched a counter-coup in Sudan, freeing the president and crushing the communist rebellion.

Gaddafi immediately extradited Babikir al-Nur and Farouk Hamadallah to Khartoum, handing them over to Nimeiry's restored regime. Subjected to a summary court-martial at the Al-Shagara military camp, al-Nur was sentenced to death for high treason. He was executed by firing squad on 26 July 1971.^[9][5] His death, along with that of the other coup leaders and the main theorists of the Sudanese Communist Party, eradicated the Marxist presence in the upper echelons of the Sudanese army.^[10]

• Korn, David A. (1993). Assassination in Khartoum. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253332028.
• Niblock, Tim (1987). Class and Power in Sudan: The Dynamics of Sudanese Politics, 1898–1985. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-08836-2.
• Shillington, Kevin (2005). Encyclopedia of African History. Vol. 1. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 978-1-57958-245-6.

• The Southeast Missourian (23 July 1971). "Execute Leaders of Sudan Coup". The Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
• The Telegraph (1 June 2009). "Gaafar al-Nimeiry". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 March 2026.