Sudan Says Near Settlement With US for 1998 Embassy Bombings

Members of a family who lost a relative, stand next to a plaque bearing the names of those killed in the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi | AFP
Members of a family who lost a relative, stand next to a plaque bearing the names of those killed in the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi | AFP
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Sudan Says Near Settlement With US for 1998 Embassy Bombings

Members of a family who lost a relative, stand next to a plaque bearing the names of those killed in the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi | AFP
Members of a family who lost a relative, stand next to a plaque bearing the names of those killed in the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi | AFP

Sudan is close to finalizing a deal with the United States to compensate the victims of 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, Foreign Minister Asma Abdalla said Tuesday.

"The final touches of a settlement with victims of embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam are being finalized," Abdalla told AFP in an interview.

"We now have a delegation in Washington negotiating with the victims' lawyers and officials at the US Department of State."

The twin bombings took place in August 1998 when a massive blast hit the US embassy in downtown Nairobi, shortly followed by an explosion in Dar es Salaam.

The attacks claimed by Al-Qaeda killed a total of 224 people and injured around 5,000 -- almost all of them Africans.

The US has accused Sudan of aiding militants linked to the militant bombings and demanded compensation for victims' families.

Sudan has since August been led by a transitional administration following the military ouster of President Omar al-Bashir in the wake of mass protests against his rule.

Under Bashir's 30-year rule, the country adopted a more radical course of Islam, hosting Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden between 1992 and 1996.

This strained ties with the US, which blacklisted Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The post-Bashir government has sought to boost the country's international standing and rebuild ties with the US.

In February, Sudan had to compensate families of victims of the USS Cole bombing in 2000 in Yemen's Aden harbor, for which Al-Qaeda also claimed responsibility.

Khartoum had always denied any involvement but agreed to the settlement to fulfill a key US condition to remove it from Washington's terrorism blacklist.

After the deal on the embassy bombings, Sudan "will have fulfilled all the requirements" to be removed from the US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, Abdalla said.



Syria Condemns Israeli Strikes on Southwestern City of Daraa

People gather during the funeral of civilians killed in an Israeli strike on Monday, in Daraa, Syria March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
People gather during the funeral of civilians killed in an Israeli strike on Monday, in Daraa, Syria March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Syria Condemns Israeli Strikes on Southwestern City of Daraa

People gather during the funeral of civilians killed in an Israeli strike on Monday, in Daraa, Syria March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
People gather during the funeral of civilians killed in an Israeli strike on Monday, in Daraa, Syria March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Syria's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Israeli strikes on the southwestern city of Daraa, which it said killed and injured civilians.

The strikes a day earlier killed at least three people and injured 19 others, the Syrian civil defense group, known as the White Helmets, said.

The Syrian foreign ministry said the strikes were "part of a campaign waged by Israel against the Syrian people and the country's stability", Reuters reported.

"The ongoing Israeli aggression on Syria is not only a violation of international law, but is also a direct threat to regional and international security," the ministry said.

The Israeli army confirmed the strikes, the latest in a string of attacks targeting Syria's military infrastructure since opposition factions toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Israel said it targeted military headquarters and sites containing weapons and equipment.