Sudan Excluded From US List of Counterterrorism Uncooperative States

Sudanese demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest rally demanding Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
Sudanese demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest rally demanding Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
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Sudan Excluded From US List of Counterterrorism Uncooperative States

Sudanese demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest rally demanding Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
Sudanese demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest rally demanding Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

Sudan was excluded, for the first time since 1993, from the list of uncooperative countries in combating terrorism which was issued by the US State Department on Wednesday evening.

Analysts and experts said the move is an important step towards the complete removal of Sudan from the terrorism list and the possibility for Khartoum to return again to the international community. It will also have a major impact on reviving the country’s economy.

Sudan has been greatly affected by its inclusion on this list of states sponsoring terrorism. But the relations with Washington have improved following talks that Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok held with US officials over the past year.

The premier obtained promises from the State Department, Treasury and Defense officials, and leaders of the US Congress, to remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Aly Verjee, researcher at the United States Institute of Peace, said that Hamdok’s government and a broad segment of Sudanese civil society have been seeking for some time to persuade the US government to remove the country from the terrorism list, as the solution to address the economic collapse and to move towards democratization.

The researcher emphasized that there were many systematic steps to be taken, both from Khartoum and Washington, to remove the country from the list, including the need for a negotiated settlement with the families of victims of terrorist attacks.

He explained that the US Treasury removed restrictions on investment and banking when the US lifted its comprehensive sanctions against Sudan in 2017, stressing that there were currently no restrictions on obtaining US foreign aid to the country.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.