A report published by Foreign Policy magazine confirmed that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, along with a number of members of Congress, are intensifying pressures to ensure that Sudan's name is removed before next November from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, which has crippled its economy for nearly a quarter of a century and incurred direct losses estimated at about $ 300 billion.
The Sudanese transitional government, according to its Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, confirmed that it had fulfilled all the obligations required of it to close the file, and pledged to pay about $ 335 million to compensate the victims of the two incidents of the bombings of the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar Al-Salam in the capitals of Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the bombing of the USS Cole Near the shores of Yemen in the year 2000, which accuses the US administration of the isolated regime of Omar al-Bashir of being involved in them.
Since its coming after the overthrow of the Bashir regime in April 2019, the Hamdok government has made efforts to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism at the forefront of its priorities, and has shown great cooperation in its negotiations with the American side, but it has been stressing that Washington is punishing the Sudanese people for the crime of the former regime, which has long been accused of harboring militants. And terrorists from different Arab countries.
According to Foreign Policy, there is increasing support within Congress and American decision-making circles for the direction of removing Sudan from the US terrorist lists, as a number of US lawmakers and diplomats are engaged in continuous efforts to convince the opposition of the necessity of closing the file and providing the necessary support for the success of the civil transformation in the country.
The magazine pointed out that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in two separate letters to members of Congress that the United States has an opportunity that is only repeated once in every generation to ensure compensation for victims of the 1998 Al Qaeda-backed terrorist attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
He also made clear in the two letters that removing Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism would be an opportunity to support the civilian-led transitional government in Sudan, which got rid of the Bashir regime, whose actions were the reason for including Sudan in the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
According to Foreign Policy, removing Sudan from the terrorism list will represent another success in the foreign policy of US President Donald Trump's administration.
Edward Randall Royce, a former Republican member of Congress who served as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who now represents some of the families of victims of the 1998 bombings, said that there is no justification for Sudan's continued inclusion on the terrorism list after the toppling of the Bashir regime and agreeing to pay compensation to the victims.
He explained that the democratic transition in Sudan is "hanging by a thread" and that the country needs to be removed from the list of states sponsoring terrorism to support the Sudanese government politically and to open much-needed foreign investment.
Earlier, the Trump administration reached a preliminary agreement with the Sudanese government requiring Khartoum to pay compensation of $ 335 to the families of the victims of the bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam and the USS Cole.
The agreement stipulates that Sudan pays up to 10 million dollars for every American and 800 thousand dollars for each foreigner who were killed in the bombings, and also stipulates that Americans injured in the attack will receive compensation ranging from 3 to 10 million dollars in exchange for 400 thousand dollars for nationalities Other.
Although the settlement was criticized for its lack of equality between the victims and its distinction of the Americans from others, it finally found acceptance by everyone, especially in light of the long wait that reached two decades.
A memo sent to Congress bearing the signatures of 80 representatives of the victims' families said that the settlement agreement, despite the negatives surrounding it, is considered acceptable and provides justice to the victims.
The Sudanese transitional government is going through a critical period and faces huge economic difficulties due to its legacy of foreign debts exceeding $ 60 billion, in addition to major restrictions that prevent it from benefiting from international cooperation frameworks due to the sanctions resulting from the inclusion of Sudan in the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
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