Between 1967 and 1971, Libya–Sudan relations was based on a foreign policy favoring solidarity with other Arab countries. In May 1969, Gaafar Nimeiry of Sudan managed a successful coup d'état in Sudan. Later that same year, Muammar Gaddafi rose to power through a coup d'état in Libya. He initially tried to strengthen ties with Sudan and Egypt, so much so that he proposed a federation with the individual states during his first two years in power. In August 1971, Colonel Gaddafi helped reverse a communist coup against Sudanese President Nimeiry by diverting a British airliner carrying one of the coup's leaders and handing him over to Nimeiry to be hanged. However, a year later Sudan accused Libya of involvement in three successive coup attempts and subsequently severed diplomatic relations. Later during the early 1970s, President Nimeiry began to pursue a foreign policy strategy which aligned Sudan with Western powers, which conflicted with Libyan interests, weaking relations between Sudan and Libya throughout the 1970s.