From the BBC:
“Trump set
to remove Sudan from state sponsors of terrorism list”
US President
Donald Trump has said Sudan will come off a list of state sponsors of terror if
it pays compensation of $335m (£259m). Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok
responded by saying the funds had been transferred but there was no immediate
US confirmation. Sudan has been listed since 1993 when al-Qaeda leader Osama
Bin Laden lived there as a guest of the government. The compensation relates to
al-Qaeda's 1998 bombing of US embassies in Africa. The attacks in Tanzania and
Kenya killed more than 220 people and the compensation money is to be paid to
"US terror victims and families", Mr Trump said. Relations between
the US and Sudan have improved since President Omar al-Bashir was ousted after
mass street protests last year. Mr Bashir had ruled the conflict-ridden African
nation for 30 years. Dropping Sudan from the blacklist will be very welcome
news in the country, where food, fuel and medicine are getting more expensive
and scarce, Deputy Africa Editor Anne Soy reports.
What did
Trump say exactly? In a tweet, Donald Trump wrote: "GREAT news! New
government of Sudan, which is making great progress, agreed to pay $335 MILLION
to U.S. terror victims and families. "Once deposited, I will lift
Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. At long last, JUSTICE for the
American people and BIG step for Sudan!" The US president has the
power to remove a nation from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Congress
then has 45 days to object. Sudan is currently one of four countries -
along with Iran, North Korea and Syria - on the blacklist.
What is
Sudan's position? Shortly after the tweet, Mr Hamdok announced the money
had already been transferred, Sudan's state TV reports. It said the move
marked "the final requirement to secure" Sudan's removal from the
blacklist. Mr Hamdok said Sudan was looking forward to the official
notification by the US authorities. Being on the list, he said, had cost the
country "too much". On 7 August 1998, trucks laden with
explosives detonated almost simultaneously outside the US embassies in Nairobi
and Dar es Salaam. More than 200 people died in the Kenyan capital and
at least 11 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city. Thousands of people were
injured in the bombings. The majority of the victims were civilians.
^ Hopefully now
US-Sudanese Relations will only improve more – with this payment and the ouster
of the Sudanese Dictator. I also hope Trump keeps his promise and actually removes Sudan from the Terrorism List. ^
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