Osama bin Laden in Sudan

Five Years in Sudan

Sudanese leader Hassan al-Turabi welcomed Sheikh Osama bin Laden in Khartoum in 1991. The Arab fighters who had fought alongside Sheikh Osama bin Laden in the Afghan war also moved to Sudan and took jobs in his companies.

Hassan al-Turabi, a former Sudanese foreign minister, led a party that supported Omar al-Bashir’s government. Sheikh Osama bin Laden stayed in Sudan for five years. Details of his stay in Sudan can be found in “Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s Desire to Turn Four Regions into Dar al-Islam.” Eventually, the Sudanese government gave in to American pressure and asked Sheikh Osama bin Laden to leave Sudan.

The Journey from Sudan to Afghanistan, as Recounted by Sheikh Osama bin Laden

“When we arrived in Jalalabad in May 1996 after leaving Sudan, Ahmad Shah Massoud and the Rabbani government held sway in Kabul. Before we arrived in Jalalabad, the Rabbani government had already made a deal with the American government. Under the agreement, we were to be handed over to the United States.

The agreement was signed by Rabbani, Ahmad Shah Massoud, Haji Qadir, and all the other senior officials. We learned about this agreement in Jalalabad through Engineer Mahmood Shaheed and Ustad Sazno Shaheed, two respected commanders who supported the Taliban and were in control of Jalalabad Airport at the time.”