Contemporary press cutting from The Times
By Our Foreign Staff
Colonel Bakar al-Nur, who was named President after last Monday’s abortive coup in Sudan, and his right-hand man, Major Farouk Osman Hamadallah, were executed by a firing squad yesterday, it was announced officially in Khartum. The announcement ended a day of confused events, with conflicting reports about the fate of the two men, who were taken off a BOAC aircraft by the Libyan Government in Benghazi last week and handed over to Sudan According to an eye-witness account in the Cairo newspaper At Akhbar, Colonel al-Nur earlier appeared at his interrogation with his bands above his head and flanked by soldiers armed with machineguns.
During the interrogation President Nimeiry accused him of having organized the attempted coup with Major Hamadallah, in conjunction with the Iraqi Baath Party, while the two men were in London.
The British Government protested at Libya’s “outrageous action” and called for the release of the two Sudanese. Reports reaching Cairo from Tripoli last night said the Libyan authorities denied that they forced the BOAC jet to land there.
The Libyans said that the aircraft landed because Khartum airport was closed and they claimed .that they accorded it all possible facilities.
An aircraft, carrying several prominent Iraquis to Khartum to congratulate the left-wing leaders of the Monday coup, blew up in the air near Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, early yesterday. According to an official announcement in Baghdad, all members of the delegation were killed.
Khartum radio reported that demonstrations of ‘loyalty towards General Nimeiry had begun in the capital Crowds shouting slogans in favour of the returned head of state were marching towards the radio station, it said.
The successful counter-coup was led by Lieutenant Muhammad Aly Karbass. the radio went on. It marked the end of the hardships that it said had befallen the Sudanese people in the past few days. Then President Nimeiry came to the microphone. Thanking the people whom rallied to his side, he denounced Monday’s coup as a mean plot “The people have proved themselves to be true. They stood side by side with the tanks and the soldiers to expose the mean conspiracy “. He continued: I hope every member of the armed forces and every member of the people will be with us against every renegade who belongs to the Communist Party.
“Arrest them or immediately notify the nearest police or army point, because these communists are traitors. “I announce now and I give warning that every person who attempts to conceal an outlaw will get the same treatment as the outlaw.” Earlier in the day. before the Khartum radio station fell into the hands of President Nimeiry’s troops, the military junta had announced that fighting was going on in the city. They said “revolutionary forces were battling heroically and they called on residents to come out into the streets to defend the revolution.”
During the fighting in Khartum troops supporting the military junta were reported to have surrounded the Egyptian, Libyan and Syrian embassies.
The Iraq news agency reported that the headquarters of the junta had been shelled. The BOAC VC10 forced to land at Benghazi, had 105 people on board, including many children flying to join their parents in East Africa. But after the incident the aircraft flew back to London. Accounts of how the plane was forced down varied in their detail but the main events are clear.
At 00.30 BST yesterday the pilot of the VC10, while flying over Libyan territory, was ordered to land by the Libyan air authorities. The pilot immediately turned back his aircraft towards the Mediterranean and asked permission of the Maltese authorities to land there. This was granted, but subsequently rescinded when the Maltese discovered that the plane was in Libyan air space and flying under the orders of Libyan air traffic control. Meanwhile, the Libyans threatened to shoot down the aircraft if their instructions were not obeyed. One of the passengers claimed that fighter planes were flying above and below, forcing the plane to land.
At 03.30 BST the aircraft landed at Benina airport in Benghazi and Libyan security officials came on board to talk to Colonel al-Nur. Both the colonel and his assistant were asked to leave the aircraft but they refused. The Security men then passed a message to Colonel al-Nur via a stewardess warning him that he would endanger the lives of the other passengers unless he left the aircraft. He then left the plane together with Major Hamadallah, who said they were being taken to Tripoli for questioning. The aircraft was then allowed to return to London.
Captain Johnny Meagher, the BOAC VC10 flight manager, asked about reports of fighters buzzingthe plane said last night that the crew had not seen any other aircraft.
In the Commons yesterday, Mr Joseph Godber. Minister of State at the Foreign Office, said that the Government took “a most serious view of the action taker by the Libyan authorities which is clearly in complete violation of international civil aviation practice”
On hearing of the matter, Mr Godber said he had immediately summoned the Libyan ambassador in London. “I protested in the strongest possible terms at an action which we condemned as inexcusable”, he added. “I demanded an apology and told him that his Government’s action was bound to have a severe effect on our relations with Libya.”
Hijacked rebel officers executed in Sudan
By Our Foreign Staff
Colonel Bakar al-Nur, who was named President after last Monday’s abortive coup in Sudan, and his right-hand man, Major Farouk Osman Hamadallah, were executed by a firing squad yesterday, it was announced officially in Khartum. The announcement ended a day of confused events, with conflicting reports about the fate of the two men, who were taken off a BOAC aircraft by the Libyan Government in Benghazi last week and handed over to Sudan. According to an eye-witness account in the Cairo newspaper At Akhbar, Colonel al-Nur earlier appeared at his interrogation with his bands above his head and flanked by soldiers armed with machine guns.
During the interrogation President Nimeiry accused him of having organized the attempted coup with Major Hamadallah, in conjunction with the Iraqi Baath Party, while the two men were in London.