Osama bin Laden leaves Afghanistan for Sudan, partly because of the intractability of the Afghan domestic situation and the endless fighting amongst rival groups and partially because he is concerned for his own safety, with reports of Saudi-sponsored assassination attempts on his life being carried out by Pakistan. Bin Laden and Prince Turki, head of Saudi intelligence, supposedly have a fundamental break, bin Laden arguing that the Saudi’s were intent on having the Afghan factions keep fighting forever, not supporting the creation of a true Islamic state.
Though bin Laden’s passport had been confiscated by the Saudi state, he reportedly makes a deal to have it returned, on the proviso that he would not interfere with Saudi domestic politics or that of any other Arab country. Instead, bin Laden become a prominent financial backer of independent Islamic movements in Bosnia, Egypt, Kashmir, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, and Yemen.
Bin Laden makes the move from Afghanistan to Sudan with his 25 wives and children as well as the core al Qaeda leadership team, including Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mohammed Atef. Eventually some two thousand “Afghan Arabs” loyal to al Qaeda would move to Sudan.
Day: March 24, 2021