Hurdles on Sudan’s way out of terrorism sponsors list

Shaimaa Hefzi

Sudan’s attempt to remove itself from the list of state sponsors of terrorism faces a number of hurdles, including the rights of the victims, especially in relation to the 9/11 attacks.

Countries financing terrorist operations or easing the mission of terrorist groups are under intense pressure to compensate the families of the victims of these operations.

Sudan works closely with the United States to remove its name from the list of international terrorism sponsors.

This comes as Khartoum finds itself required to compensate the victims of the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Sudan will pay $330 million in compensation for the families of the American victims of the two attacks.

The deal in this regard will be completed when Sudan pays the compensation for the families of the victims.

However, Khartoum faces difficulty doing this, given its tough economic conditions. The U.S. Congress must also pass a resolution approving the deal. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised Sudanese officials to settle the whole matter.

During a recent visit to Khartoum, Pompeo said the U.S. government had agreed with the families of the victims to settle the issue. Nonetheless, he added that the same families are waiting for Sudan to pay the compensation.

There is, meanwhile, a number of Congress members who believe that regime change in Sudan is far from enough to ensure a change of policy in the Arab African state.

Bottleneck   

Sudan turned into a pariah state under ex-president Omar al-Bashir who ruled the country for 30 years.

Basher’s government committed genocide. It hosted the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for five years after he was kicked out of Saudi Arabia in 1991.

This stood behind the decision of the United States to include Sudan in the list of international terrorism sponsors.

Sudan tries to get out of this bottleneck in order to move ahead on the road of reform, while its economic conditions keep deteriorating.