Qualla: 1985 Sudanese coup d'état

1985 Sudanese coup d'état: Introduction

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mister Jiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. In the reception area of the Khartoum Hilton Hotel, someone tore down a portrait of President Gaafar Nimeiry on 6 April 1985. Tens of thousands of Sudanese had poured into the streets of Khartoum that day to celebrate the news that had just been announced: the army had deposed Nimeiry, who was at that moment in the United States and would be turned away from his own country by his own pilot. The 1985 coup came after more than a week of civil disobedience so effective it shut down the country. The army did not overthrow the civilians. The civilians toppled the regime, and the army caught up.

Image: Mister Jiff | CC BY-SA 4.0

1985 Sudanese coup d'état: Sharia and Hunger

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mister Jiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. Two years earlier, in 1983, Nimeiry had declared all of Sudan an Islamic state under Sharia law - including the non-Muslim southern majority. The Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was abolished on 5 June 1983, ending the Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972 and restarting the civil war t...

Image: Mister Jiff | CC BY-SA 4.0

1985 Sudanese coup d'état: Eight Associations

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mister Jiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. On 3 April 1985, eight professional associations - doctors, lawyers, university lecturers - called for a protest and a 'general political strike until the abolition of the current regime.' The call worked. Massive demonstrations erupted in Khartoum and around Sudan. The general s...

Image: Mister Jiff | CC BY-SA 4.0

1985 Sudanese coup d'état: April 6

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mister Jiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. On 6 April, after more than a week of civil unrest, the Sudanese Armed Forces took control of the country. The coup was led by Field Marshal Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab, who was both Defense Minister and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief. Nimeiry, in the United States at the time, l...

Image: Mister Jiff | CC BY-SA 4.0

1985 Sudanese coup d'état: A Celebrated Coup

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mister Jiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. The images that reached the world showed unusual scenes for a military takeover: ordinary Sudanese celebrating. Portraits of Nimeiry were torn down - including the one in the Hilton Hotel reception area. In central Khartoum, outside the Meridian Hotel, people raised the pre-Nimei...

Image: Mister Jiff | CC BY-SA 4.0

1985 Sudanese coup d'état: From the Air

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mister Jiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. From altitude, central Khartoum's pattern of wide colonial-era avenues remains visible, converging on the presidential palace and the riverfront. The Meridian Hotel, where some of the largest 1985 celebrations were photographed, still stands in central Khartoum. The Hilton - the ...

Image: Mister Jiff | CC BY-SA 4.0