Pompeo Confirms he Wants to Remove Sudan from Terror List

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Reuters file photo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Reuters file photo
TT
20

Pompeo Confirms he Wants to Remove Sudan from Terror List

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Reuters file photo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Reuters file photo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday he wants to delist Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, seeing a historic opportunity in its civilian transition.

Pompeo has repeatedly indicated that the State Department hopes to remove the designation, which severely impedes investment to Sudan, but disputes have arisen on a compensation package over the 1998 bombings of two US embassies, Agence France Presse reported.

Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that legislation on a settlement should come before Congress "in the very, very near term."

"I think lifting the state sponsor of terrorism designation there if we can... take care of the victims of those tragedies would be a good thing for American foreign policy," Pompeo said.

Pompeo said that the fall of president Omar al-Bashir following mass protests and the nearly year-old government of a civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, marked "an opportunity that doesn't come along often."

"There's a chance not only for a democracy to begin to be built out, but perhaps regional opportunities that could flow from that as well," he said.

Bashir had welcomed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Sudan was accused of aiding militants who blew up the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people and injuring around 5,000 others.

Sudan's new government has agreed to a compensation package but a dispute has arisen over higher payments to Americans than to Africans, who accounted for the vast majority of the casualties, AFP reported.

Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat known for his interest in Africa, urged Pompeo to "do everything you can" to support Hamdok and seize the chance "to build a new democratic partner in the region."



Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
TT
20

Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Israel’s defense minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.

Thunberg, a climate campaigner is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, The AP news reported.

The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza’s territorial waters as early as Sunday.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end.

An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.