Sudanupdated 15m ago2 min read
MapMohamed Osman Al-Mirghani Dies in Cairo Aged 90, Sudan’s Khatmiyya Authority Says
“Sudan Tribune said he died at Cleopatra Hospital in Cairo, where he had been receiving treatment.”
“In a statement issued on Friday, Sudan’s Council of Ministers described al-Mirghani as a prominent national and religious figure”
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Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani died in Cairo at age 90. He led Sudan's Khatmiyya Sufi order and founded the Democratic Unionist Party.
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Al-Mirghani dies in Cairo
Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani, the founder and former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and a leader of the Sufi orders, died in Cairo at the age of 90, according to the Khodishiya order and the Democratic Unionist Party’s office. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, mourned al-Mirghani and praised his national, political, and religious service to Sudan in an official statement.
The Khatmiyya authority announced the death in a statement, saying he died "after a career full of great works in the service of religion and the nation", while other accounts differed on where he died. Sudan Tribune said al-Mirghani died at Cleopatra Hospital in Cairo, while Al-Osboa said he died at his home in the city.
Burial plans and condolences
The Democratic Unionist Party said al-Mirghani would be buried on Monday in Khartoum Bahri, and it said funeral arrangements in Khartoum would begin on Sunday. The party said the family would receive condolences on Sunday evening at the Tiba villa in Cairo, while Radio Tamazuj said al-Mirghani would be buried on Monday at the Sayed Ali Al-Mirghani Mosque in Khartoum North.
The Khatmiyya authority told the order’s representatives and followers inside and outside Sudan to open its mosques and lodges to receive mourners, and it said details of the funeral rites would follow. The office of Mr. al-Mirghani said condolences would be received at his home in Villa Tiba, located at 6 Khartoum Street in Heliopolis, on Sunday, November 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Legacy amid Sudan’s war
Al-Mirghani was born in 1936 in the Hilat Hamd area of Khartoum North, and he became head of the Democratic Party in 1968, succeeding his father Ali Mirghani. Al-Mirghani met John Garang in November 1988 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the meeting produced the Mirghani-Garang Agreement aimed at ending Sudan’s second civil war.
“The war has displaced about 13mn people, according toUN estimates.”
Sudan’s Council of Ministers described al-Mirghani as a prominent national and religious figure who played a significant role in efforts to promote national unity, peace and political consensus. The sources linked his death to a period when fighting continues between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, and DNE Africa said the war has displaced about 13mn people, according to UN estimates.