Coup Atlas Research Database
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62509051975AttemptedMilitary coup

Sudan, 1975 — military coup attempt

Sudan (SDN)North Africa, AfricaSeptember 5, 1975

Event Summary

The dataset records an attempted military coup in Sudan on 5 September 1975, one of the recurrent challenges faced by President Gaafar Nimeiri, whose government had survived the crushing of the Ansar at Aba Island in 1970 and a communist backed coup in 1971 but remained narrowly based and coup prone. This period saw plots from disaffected military officers and opposition elements. A notable attempt is associated with September 1975, a military revolt led by Brigadier Hassan Hussein Osman that briefly seized power before being swiftly crushed by loyalist forces under Nimeiri's deputy, with the mutineers court-martialed and executed.

Nimeiri survived this and further challenges, including the far larger Libyan-backed insurrection of July 1976, through a combination of army loyalty, southern support won by the 1972 Addis Ababa peace agreement, and repression. He continued to rule Sudan until he was finally overthrown in a popular uprising and military takeover in 1985.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Gaafar Nimeiri crushed the September 1975 military revolt and remained in power until 1985
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Gaafar Nimeiri (president of Sudan, target)
Hassan Hussein Osman (brigadier, coup leader)

Sources

In September 1975 a military coup led by Brigadier Hassan Hussein Osman briefly seized power in Sudan before being swiftly crushed by loyalist forces under Nimeiri's deputy, General Mohamed al-Baghir Ahmed.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Gaafar Nimeiry open source ↗
Osman and other mutineers were subsequently court-martialed and executed.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Gaafar Nimeiry open source ↗
Nimeiri had survived the crushing of the Ansar at Aba Island in 1970 and a communist backed coup in 1971 but faced constant threats from northern political factions.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Gaafar Nimeiry open source ↗
Nimeiri ruled Sudan until he was overthrown in 1985, having weathered numerous coup attempts including the July 1976 Libyan-backed insurrection.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Gaafar Nimeiry open source ↗

Editorial Note

Dataset date 5 September 1975 corresponds to the Hassan Hussein Osman military revolt against Nimeiri; the exact day is lightly documented in accessible English sources this session, so it is flagged, while the revolt, its suppression, and the executions are verified. Continues the Sudan run, following the 1970 Aba Island record in batch 68 and earlier context only records.

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
62509051975
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-625-1975-09-05

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Gaafar Nimeiri crushed the September 1975 military revolt and remained in power until 1985.

Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. 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.

Luttwak

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

Wikipedia

Washington Post

“Coup Attempt Foiled in Sudan,” September 6, 1975

Times of India

“Attempted coup in Sudan crushed,” September 6, 1975

Chicago Tribune

“Coup bid in Sudan,” September 7, 1975

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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