Sudan has, for some time, now maintained to be in the United States blacklist. This is regarding the nation being branded as a sponsor of terrorism. After the then country’s president, Omar al-Bashir, this was welcomed a renowned terrorist Osama bin Laden back in the year 1993 to live in the country. Osama was the founder of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group responsible for the 1998 embassy terror attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Qaeda has also been linked to many terrorist acts that have led to the loss of many innocent lives.
Free from Islamist leadership
The country recently experienced a test of independence from the dictatorship leadership under Al-Bashir. This was after a series of protests from its youth activists. Although the US has been making advances with the president Al-Bashir to grant Sudan its independence, only the Christian South Sudan were given freedom. Today, the whole of Sudan state now is transformed as Al-Bashir was deposed. The country is now led by a British prime-minister, Abdalla Hamdok, an economist.
Advances towards Sudan being delisted
The delays towards the country’s plea to be removed from the blacklist are due to a $335m compensation. The country’s capital, Khartoum, promised to reimburse affected families of the embassy attacks in 1998. If the country wishes to be delisted, it must fulfill its diligence to the affected people from these attacks. A US spokesman also confirmed to the AFP news that making those payments is an important move in convincing the US to enact on their pleas.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, gave some hope to Sudan. He mentioned in remarks that it was likely for the country to be delisted. He further mentioned that the process is expected to be completed before the end of October. The timing is quite impeccable as the US will be days apart from its elections set to take root on November 3rd.
Freedom at a cost
The US Congress will also need to chip in to pass legislation to provide the state with immunity from further claims. However, some US legislators still feel that the country should also compensate for all the other attacks conducted by the Al-Qaeda. This is in light of the 2000 bombing attack on the USS Cole off Yemen.
There are also speculations concerning the Israel relations with Sudan. Hamdok, in his meeting with Pompeo, further stated that his transitional government’s reign is set to end in the 2022 elections. As a result, he wouldn’t have the mandate to normalize this proposed relation with Israel. But others still see hope following the country’s journey towards being delisted from the US blacklist being positive so far.
More:
- THE UNITED STATES TO REDUCE ITS TROOPS IN AFRICA
- The Great Power Competition within the United Nations
