Donald Trump paved the way for Sudan’s withdrawal from the American blacklist of states supporting terrorism on Monday, October 19, a turning point immediately hailed by Khartoum, which called for the lifting of this heavy sanction in force since 1993 and synonymous with hindering investments for this poor country. ” Excellent news ! Sudan’s new government, making real progress, agreed to pay $ 335 million [environ 285 millions d’euros] to American victims of terrorism and their families. Once paid, I will remove Sudan from the list of states supporting terrorism ”, tweeted the President of the United States, without specifying a timetable.
GREAT news! New government of Sudan, which is making great progress, agreed to pay $ 335 MILLION to US terror vict… https://t.co/FmHVeCkw7F
“Thank you very much President Trump! “Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok responded immediately on Twitter. “We are on the verge of shedding the heaviest legacy of the deceased regime”, said the one who has led a transitional government since the fall of the autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The European Union (EU) has also welcomed a decision ” capital city “ who “Strengthens integration” from Sudan “In the international community and its access to the world economy”.
The head of the American diplomacy, Mike Pompeo, had evoked in September a draft agreement providing for the payment into a blocked account of these Sudanese indemnities for the families of the victims of the attacks perpetrated in 1998 by the nebula jihadist Al-Qaeda against the embassies from the United States to Kenya and Tanzania, which had killed more than 200 people. Sudan, once an outcast of the international community for having hosted al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in the 1990s, has been ordered to pay such compensation by the American courts. According to the agreement, however, these funds will only be transferred to the complainants after Sudan has been removed from the blacklist. Mike Pompeo had said last month that this would happen ” very probably “ before the end of October.
“We urge Congress to immediately pass the law necessary to implement the agreement”, said Edith Bartley, spokesperson for the families of Americans killed at the Nairobi embassy. “This agreement cannot be the victim of blockages and quarrels by elected officials”, she said, while a handful of influential Democratic senators have so far expressed their reservations. Despite negotiations well advanced, Abdallah Hamdok had accused the United States on October 11 of endangering the democratization of his country, thus appearing to be annoyed with an American turnaround or delay. Khartoum in fact ensures since last month to have collected the amount of compensation.
Pressures for a deal with Israel
At the same time, Washington has stepped up pressure for Khartoum to normalize its relations with Israel before the US presidential election on November 3, as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have done in recent weeks. The Trump administration, without denying this insistent request, ensures that no direct link exists with the lifting of sanctions, but several observers and media have reported the opposite. On Monday, neither the White House nor Khartoum mentioned a possible Israeli-Sudanese agreement.
At the end of August, Abdallah Hamdok had dampened American hopes by affirming, during a visit by Mike Pompeo to Khartoum, that he had “No mandate” to settle this sensitive issue. Negotiations nevertheless continued behind the scenes with positions that were perhaps less rigid and possible divisions on this thorny subject between civilians and the military. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, head of the Sovereign Council in Sudan, had indeed met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February before discussing in September with an American delegation of “Role” of Sudan in “The future of Arab-Israeli peace”.
The United States had reconnected with Khartoum, already, under the former Democratic President Barack Obama, when Omar al-Bashir had started to cooperate in the fight against terrorism and played the game of peace in South Sudan. The revolution which swept through Omar al-Bashir only accelerated the movement. The United States has “A single and narrow window to support the transitional government led by a civilian in Sudan, which has finally got rid of the Islamist dictatorship”Mike Pompeo wrote in a letter to senators in September.
