Aba Island
Conservative forces, led by the Ansar, posed the greatest threat to the RCC. Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi had withdrawn to his Aba Island stronghold in the Nile, near Khartoum, in the belief that the government had decided to strike at the Ansar movement. The Imam had demanded a return to democratic government, the exclusion of communists from power, and an end to RCC rule. In March 1970, hostile Ansar crowds prevented Nimeiri from visiting the island for talks with the imam. Fighting subsequently erupted between government forces and as many as 30,000 Ansar. When the Ansar ignored an ultimatum to surrender, army units with air support assaulted Aba Island. About 3,000 people died during the battle. The Imam escaped only to be killed while attempting to cross the border into Ethiopia. The government exiled Sadiq al Mahdi to Egypt, where Nasser promised to keep him under guard to prevent him from succeeding his uncle as head of the Ansar movement.