ABSTRACT
On January 1, 1956, the Sudan became independent, with Ismail al-Azhari, the leader of the National Unionist Party (NUP), as its Premier. According to Mohammed Omer Beshir, Southern members of the NUP had voted for independence because they had been promised that their claims for federal status for the South would be given full consideration. When the Sudanese government saw the pro-Anya Nya sentiments of General Amin, it not only gave refuge to Milton Obote, but also helped him to recruit and train an armed force at a camp in the South which had been captured from the Anya Nya. The government also contained many members of the newly formed Socialist Party. Numeiri suspended the constitution, abolished all political parties, and announced that there would not be a return to multi-party democracy. The Soviet support alone amounted to $150 million after the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. In addition, Sudan is reported to have received military aid from Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
