Coup Atlas Research Database
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62501261973ConspiracyMilitary coup

Sudan, 1973 — military coup conspiracy

Sudan (SDN)North Africa, AfricaJanuary 26, 1973

Event Summary

This entry is coded 26 January 1973, during a period of unsuccessful coup plotting against President Gaafar Nimeiry of Sudan. After surviving the July 1971 communist-backed coup by Major Hashem al-Atta and the swift counter-coup that restored him, Nimeiry had crushed the Sudanese Communist Party, executed the plot's leaders, and shifted Sudan away from the Soviet Union. He then moved to institutionalize his rule, creating a Constituent Assembly in August 1972 and preparing a permanent constitution, promulgated in May 1973, that made the Sudanese Socialist Union the sole legal party.

Discontent nonetheless simmered over food shortages, the increased military role in government, and above all the March 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement ending the southern civil war, which many Muslim conservatives regarded as a surrender. In 1973 and 1974 there were unsuccessful coup attempts against Nimeiry. The January 1973 coding sits in this period of early-1973 conspiracy against the May Regime.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Nimeiry survived the 1973 plotting and consolidated one-party rule; he governed until 1985
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Gaafar Nimeiry (target)
Muslim conservative and southern-settlement opponents
Sudanese Socialist Union (the sole legal party)

Sources

In 1973 and 1974 there were unsuccessful coup attempts against Nimeiri, amid discontent over food shortages and the increased military role in government.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Democratic Republic of Sudan open source ↗
Many Muslim conservatives regarded the southern settlement, the Addis Ababa Agreement, as a surrender, fueling opposition to Nimeiry.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Democratic Republic of Sudan open source ↗
In August 1972 Nimeiri created a Constituent Assembly to draft a permanent constitution, which was promulgated in May 1973 and recognized the SSU as the only authorized political organization.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Democratic Republic of Sudan open source ↗
After the July 1971 coup and counter-coup, Nimeiry strengthened his rule, diminishing the influence of former Revolutionary Command Council members by 1975.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Coups d'etat in Sudan open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot is precisely dated 26 Jan 1973 in the sources located this session; the coding sits in the documented 1973 wave of unsuccessful coup attempts against Nimeiry amid conservative discontent over the southern settlement. Context/verified as a documented 1973 attempt. Third Sudan entry across the run (after the July 1969 and January 1970 entries in batch 9).

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
62501261973

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Nimeiry survived the 1973 plotting and consolidated one-party rule; he governed until 1985.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Wikipedia

Washington Post

“12 Are Held as Sudan Foils Plot,” January 27, 1973

Irish Times

“Sudanese uncover assassination plot,” January 27, 1973

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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