Efrain Rios Montt vs Gaafar Nimeiry

Under Ríos Montt's 'Beans and Bullets' policy, the Guatemalan army conducted a scorched earth campaign in the highlands, destroying hundreds of Maya villages, killing thousands, and displacing tens of thousands. The campaign aimed to eliminate support for leftist guerrillas.

Ríos Montt led a military coup that overthrew President Fernando Romeo Lucas García. He assumed power as head of a military junta, suspending the constitution and dissolving Congress. His rule marked the bloodiest period of Guatemala's 36-year civil war.

Ríos Montt was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity for the massacre of over 1,700 Maya Ixil people during his 1982-83 rule. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison, but the conviction was later overturned on procedural grounds by the Constitutional Court.

Gaafar Nimeiry, then a colonel, led the Free Officers Movement in a bloodless coup that overthrew the civilian government of Prime Minister Mohamed Ahmed Mahgoub. Nimeiry established the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) and declared Sudan a socialist state.

Nimeiry signed the Addis Ababa Agreement with the Anyanya rebel group, ending the First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972). The agreement granted southern Sudan regional autonomy and ended 17 years of conflict, marking a major achievement in Nimeiry's early rule.

Nimeiry abandoned his socialist policies and adopted Islamic Sharia law, imposing hudud punishments and dissolving the southern autonomy. This decision alienated the non-Muslim south and reignited civil war, leading to the formation of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).

Nimeiry was overthrown by a military coup led by General Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab while he was on a visit to the United States. The coup was triggered by widespread protests against economic hardship, corruption, and the ongoing civil war. Nimeiry went into exile in Egypt.