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Sudan Optimistic US Will Soon Remove it from Terror List

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP)
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP)
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Sudan Optimistic US Will Soon Remove it from Terror List

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP)
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP)

Sudan’s government has welcomed statements by the United States administration on removing it from its terror list after it was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 under former US President Bill Clinton, cutting it off from financial markets and strangling its economy.

In a press statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok stressed the transitional government’s adherence to continue working with US President Donald Trump’s administration to remove Sudan from the list and allows it to become part of the international community.

He praised the role played by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat known for his interest in Africa who urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “do everything" he can to support Hamdok and seize the chance “to build a new democratic partner in the region.”

On Thursday, Pompeo told the Committee he wants to delist Sudan, adding that legislation on a settlement should come before Congress “in the very, very near term.”

“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 stressed.

On June 26, Pompeo held a phone call with Hamdok, during which they discussed means to strengthen the US-Sudan bilateral relationship and reviewed progress towards addressing the policy and statutory requirements for consideration of the rescission of Sudan’s State Sponsor of Terrorism designation.

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Haydar Badawi Sadig, for his part, said Pompeo’s remarks indicate that his country will soon be delisted.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that his country welcomes the US willingness to end this issue and hopes to accelerate its implementation.

Sadig further pointed out that Pompeo and Coons’s keenness to remove Sudan from the terror list indicates both US executive and legislative bodies’ attempts to support the democratic transformation in Sudan.

“This would constitute an opportunity and a different model in Sudan’s troubled environment and is compatible with Sudan’s aspiration to be delisted,” he noted.

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Arab World

Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
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Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)

The Houthi militia has recently released several individuals it had abducted for celebrating Yemen’s September Revolution. However, over the past few days, it has detained hundreds of residents in its stronghold of Saada, accusing them of espionage.

The campaign coincides with the airing of alleged confessions from a purported spy cell and the abduction of a former employee of the US Embassy in Yemen.

Local sources in Saada province, approximately 242 kilometers north of Sanaa, report that the Houthis have launched a widespread campaign of arrests targeting civilians. These individuals have been taken from their homes, workplaces, and businesses under allegations of collaborating with Western nations and Israel. Families of those detained have been warned to remain silent and refrain from discussing the arrests with the media or on social media platforms.

According to the sources, more than 300 individuals, including dozens of women, have been abducted across various districts in Saada. The arrests have also targeted relatives and associates of Othman Mujalli, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, who hails from the region.

The sources suggest that the Houthis are detaining women as hostages to pressure their relatives, who may either be out of the militia’s reach or living outside Houthi-controlled areas. They also appear to be using the women to coerce confessions from male relatives. Last month, the Houthis accused Hamid Mujalli, Othman Mujalli’s brother, of engaging in espionage for Arab and Western nations for nearly two decades.

In a separate incident, the Houthis abducted a former employee of the US Embassy in Sanaa from his home on Monday without providing any explanation for their actions.

Release of Detainees

The Houthis recently released Sheikh Amin Rajeh, a tribal leader from Ibb province, after detaining him for four months. Several other individuals were also freed, none of whom had been formally charged during their detention. Rajeh, a member of the General People’s Congress Party, was one of many political activists, students, workers, and public employees abducted in September for celebrating Yemen’s September 26, 1962, revolution.

One of the released individuals, a shop owner, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was unaware of the reason for his detention. He had been abducted in November, two months after the Houthis initiated a crackdown on those commemorating the revolution.

Alleged Spy Cell

Houthi-controlled media recently broadcast confessions from what they claimed was a newly uncovered spy cell. The group linked the cell to its broader narrative of “promised conquest and sacred jihad” against the West and Israel.

According to Houthi security officials, the alleged spy cell was working to compile a “target database,” monitor sites linked to missile forces and drones, and track specific military and security locations. They also claimed the cell had been observing the residences and movements of Houthi leaders.

In response, the Houthis issued warnings to residents, forbidding them from discussing or sharing information about militia-controlled sites, facilities, or the whereabouts of their leaders.

The Houthis’ actions reflect mounting concerns over potential strikes targeting their senior leadership, similar to the recent attacks on Hezbollah figures in Lebanon. Those fears come amid ongoing tensions with Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, following the Houthis’ assaults on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and missile attacks on Israel.