Editing Omar al-Bashir (section)

===Tensions with Hassan al-Turabi===

In the mid-1990s, a feud between al-Bashir and al-Turabi began, mostly due to al-Turabi's links to [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic fundamentalist]] groups, as well as allowing them to operate out of Sudan, even personally inviting [[Osama bin Laden]] to the country.<ref>{{Cite news|last = Shahzad|title = Bin Laden uses Iraq to plot new attacks|work = Asia Times|access-date = 2 December 2007|date = 23 February 2002|url = http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DB23Ag02.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20021020093406/http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DB23Ag02.html|url-status = unfit|archive-date = 20 October 2002}}</ref> The [[United States]] had listed Sudan as a [[State Sponsors of Terrorism|state sponsor of terrorism]] since 1993,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/families-of-uss-cole-victims-sue-sudan-for-105-million|title=Families of USS Cole Victims Sue Sudan for $105 Million|work=Fox News|date=25 March 2015 |access-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106163604/https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258413,00.html|archive-date=6 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> mostly due to al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi taking complete power in the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DB23Ag02.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021020093406/http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DB23Ag02.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-10-20|title=Bin Laden uses Iraq to plot new attacks|work=atimes.com}}</ref> [[United States|U.S]]. firms have been barred from doing business in Sudan since 1997.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Spetalnick| first = Matt| title = U.S. lifts Sudan sanctions, wins commitment against arms deals with North Korea| work = Reuters| access-date = 25 May 2018| date = 7 October 2017| url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sudan-usa-sanctions/u-s-lifts-sanctions-on-sudan-official-idUSKBN1CB26Q| archive-date = 19 March 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180319102510/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sudan-usa-sanctions/u-s-lifts-sanctions-on-sudan-official-idUSKBN1CB26Q| url-status = live}}</ref> In 1998, the [[Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory]] in [[Khartoum]] was destroyed by a U.S. [[cruise missile]] strike because of its alleged production of [[chemical weapon]]s and links to [[al-Qaeda]]. However the U.S. State Department [[Bureau of Intelligence and Research]] wrote a report in 1999 questioning the attack on the factory, suggesting that the connection to bin Laden was not accurate; James Risen reported in ''[[The New York Times]]'': "Now, the analysts renewed their doubts and told Assistant Secretary of State [[Phyllis Oakley]] that the C.I.A.'s evidence on which the attack was based was inadequate. Ms. Oakley asked them to double-check; perhaps there was some intelligence they had not yet seen. The answer came back quickly: There was no additional evidence. Ms. Oakley called a meeting of key aides and a consensus emerged: Contrary to what the Administration was saying, the case tying Al Shifa to Mr. bin Laden or to chemical weapons was weak."<ref>{{cite web|author=Risen, James|date=27 October 1999|title=To Bomb Sudan Plant, or Not: A Year Later, Debates Rankle|url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/102799us-sudan.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-date=5 October 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021005085235/https://www.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/102799us-sudan.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After being re-elected president of Sudan with a five-year-term in the [[1996 Sudanese general election|1996 election]] with 75.7% of the popular vote,<ref name=BBCprofile>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3273569.stm|work=BBC News|title=Profile: Sudan's President Bashir|date=25 November 2003|access-date=20 May 2010|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117094125/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3273569.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> al-Bashir issued the registration of legalized political parties in 1999 after being influenced by al-Turabi. Rival parties such as the [[Liberal Democrats (Sudan)|Liberal Democrats of Sudan]] and the Alliance of the Peoples' Working Forces, headed by former Sudanese President [[Gaafar Nimeiry]], were established and were allowed to run for election against al-Bashir's [[National Congress Party (Sudan)|National Congress Party]], however, they failed to achieve significant support, and al-Bashir was re-elected president, receiving 86.5% of the popular vote in the [[2000 Sudanese general election|2000 presidential election]]. At the [[2000 Sudanese general election|legislative elections]] that same year, al-Bashir's National Congress Party won 355 out of 360 seats, with al-Turabi as its chairman. However, after al-Turabi introduced a bill to reduce the president's powers, prompting al-Bashir to dissolve parliament and declare a [[state of emergency]], tensions began to rise between al-Bashir and al-Turabi. Reportedly, al-Turabi was suspended as chairman of National Congress Party, after he urged a boycott of the president's re-election campaign. Then, a splinter-faction led by al-Turabi, the Popular National Congress Party (PNC) signed an agreement with [[Sudan People's Liberation Army]], which led al-Bashir to believe that they were plotting to overthrow him and the government.<ref name="BBCprofile"/>

Further on, al-Turabi's influence and that of his party's "'internationalist' and ideological wing" waned "in favor of the 'nationalist' or more pragmatic leaders who focus on trying to recover from Sudan's disastrous [[international isolation]] and economic damage that resulted from ideological adventurism".<ref>Fuller, ''The Future of Political Islam'', (2003), p.111</ref> At the same time, Sudan worked to appease the United States and other international critics by expelling members of [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]] and encouraging bin Laden to leave.<ref>Wright, ''The Looming Tower'', (2006), pp.221–3</ref>

On al-Bashir's orders, al-Turabi was imprisoned based on allegations of conspiracy in 2000 before being released in October 2003.<ref name=Denies>Wasil Ali, [http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article27123 "Sudanese Islamist opposition leader denies link with Darfur rebels"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412093622/https://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article27123 |date=12 April 2020 }}, ''Sudan Tribune'', {{Nowrap|13 May}} 2008.</ref> Al-Turabi was again imprisoned in March 2004<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3190770.stm|title=Profile: Sudan's Islamist leader|date=15 January 2009|work=BBC|access-date=15 December 2019|language=en-GB|archive-date=15 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215012239/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3190770.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> and released in July 2005, at the height of the peace agreement in the civil war.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSJoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1521|title=Political Handbook of the World 2018–2019|last=Lansford|first=Tom|date=19 March 2019|publisher=CQ Press|isbn=978-1-5443-2713-6|language=en|access-date=15 December 2019|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124191315/https://books.google.com/books?id=oSJoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1521|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20090309-head-opposition-backs-iccs-arrest-warrant-bashir-|title=Head of opposition backs ICC's arrest warrant for Bashir|date=9 March 2009|work=France 24|access-date=15 December 2019|agency=AFP|language=en|archive-date=15 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215012242/https://www.france24.com/en/20090309-head-opposition-backs-iccs-arrest-warrant-bashir-|url-status=live}}</ref>