Coup Atlas Research Database
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62503071996ConspiracyMilitary coup

Sudan, 1996 — military coup conspiracy

Sudan (SDN)North Africa, AfricaMarch 7, 1996

Event Summary

This entry is coded 7 March 1996, during the consolidation of President Omar al-Bashir's National Islamic Front regime in Sudan around the March 1996 national elections, the first held since the 1989 coup. Bashir, who had seized power in 1989 and appointed himself president in October 1993 after disbanding the Revolutionary Command Council, ran in March 1996 as effectively the only candidate legally permitted, winning with a large majority, while the Islamist ideologue Hassan al-Turabi was elected to the National Assembly and became its speaker. The period was marked by continued repression, purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, banned parties and press, and deep international isolation: Sudan had been designated a state sponsor of terrorism, hosted figures such as Osama bin Laden, and faced UN sanctions after the Sudanese security service was implicated in the 1995 attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Mubarak.

In this climate of a minority regime maintaining control through purges and detention of alleged plotters, the 7 March 1996 coding sits in the anti-Bashir conspiracy environment around the March 1996 elections.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Bashir was confirmed president in the March 1996 election and ruled until 2019
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Omar al-Bashir (target)
Hassan al-Turabi and the National Islamic Front
the purged army officer corps

Sources

Bashir was confirmed as president by an election held in 1996, in which he was the only candidate legally allowed to run, and his ally Turabi was elected to the National Assembly where he served as speaker.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Omar al-Bashir open source ↗
In March 1996 national elections were held for the first time since the 1989 coup, and al-Turabi was elected to a seat in the National Assembly, his first instance of holding a political position with some consistency.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Hassan al-Turabi open source ↗
From 1989 Bashir's government carried out severe repression including purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties and independent newspapers, and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Hassan al-Turabi open source ↗
Sudan's Islamist links with international terrorist organizations led to its 1993 designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and the failed 1995 attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Mubarak, in which the Sudanese security service was involved, drew UN Security Council sanctions.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Hassan al-Turabi open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot is precisely dated 7 Mar 1996 in the sources located this session; the coding sits in the anti-Bashir conspiracy and consolidation climate around the March 1996 elections. Context with strong framing. Fifth Sudan record in the overall run (after four across the two previous batches).

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
62503071996

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Bashir was confirmed president in the March 1996 election and ruled until 2019.

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.

Business Times

“Coup attempt shakes Sudan poll,” March 13, 1996

Chicago Tribune

“COUP ATTEMPT REPORTEDLY FOILED,” March 12, 1996

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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