Trump to remove Sudan from state sponsors of terrorism list

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US President Donald Trump has said he will remove Sudan from his country’s list of state sponsors of terror on the condition it pays $335m in compensation for the 1998 al-Qaeda bombing of US embassies in East Africa.

The attacks targeted embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, killing more than 220 people, and the compensation will be paid to “US terror victims and families,” according to Trump. Sudan was placed on the US state sponsors of terrorism list in 1993 over allegations that then-President Omar al-Bashir’s Islamist government was supporting terrorist groups.

Trump set to remove Sudan from state sponsors of terrorism list

Relations between the US and Sudan have improved in recent years, particularly after former-president Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power by the military, following months of civil unrest last year.

In a tweet published on Monday, President Trump said: “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!”

By removing Sudan from the US state sponsors of terrorism list, Trump will relieve the country of numerous sanctions preventing the country from receiving financial aid from one of the world’s biggest economies, as well as a series of trade embargoes and opposition from the US to any loans proposed by the World Bank or any other international financial institutions.

Featured image: “Khartoum, Sudan” flickr photo by Christopher.Michel https://flickr.com/photos/cmichel67/32438075892 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

About Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks is a UK journalist who wants to cut out the international agendas in news. Spending his early years in both England and Northern Ireland he saw the difference between reality and media coverage at an early age. After graduating from the University of Chester with a BA in journalism, his travels revealed just how large the gap between news and the real world can be. As Editor-in-Chief at East Africa Monitor, it’s his job to provide a balanced view of what’s going on in the region for English-speaking audiences.