Sudan removed from US list of state sponsors of terrorism

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that Sudan has been officially removed from a list of countries that the US considers being state sponsors of terrorism, the Jerusalem Post reports. The 1993 US designation of Sudan as a terror sponsor was made during the brutal dictatorship of former president Omar al-Bashir, who was believed to be protecting terrorist groups, and who was finally ousted last year.

President Donald Trump had announced in October he had decided to remove Sudan from the list, and there then followed a period of Congressional review of the decision. In a statement about Monday’s delisting, Pompeo said in a statement: “This achievement was made possible by the efforts of Sudan’s civilian-led transitional government to chart a bold new course away from the legacy of the Bashir regime and, in particular, to meet the statutory and policy criteria for rescission.”

Sudan’s removal from the list means its transitional government can begin work on repairing the country’s economic crisis, the Jerusalem Post said. While on the list, Sudan had been cut off from the world banking system and was largely deprived of financial assistance.

Congress has not yet approved a bill that would protect Sudan from future lawsuits filed by victims of terror, however. And, according to the Jerusalem Post, this “could mar the [recently agreed] normalization process with Israel.”

In any event, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok welcomed the delisting and said in a statement: “We have been liberated from the global blockade which we were forced into by the behavior of the ousted regime. This achievement… contributes to economic reforms, attracting investments and remittances through official channels, creating new job opportunities for young people, and many other positives,” the Jerusalem Post reports.

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