Osman Digna: A Sudanese Hero

Osman Digna was a friend of Al Mahdi. He was named ‘ Digna’ because of

his beard. He was born in Suakin in 1840. He was a

merchant before he joined Al Mahdi. Sudan was ruled from Egypt but he wanted to

change that. In 1883, he attacked the Egyptian army near

Tokar and a few months later he took control of the city. Over the next

16 years his army fought many times sometimes they won and sometimes they didn’t.

In 1891, the combined British and Egyptian army joined together and

took Tokar back. Osman Digna had to hide in the mountains. In