US removes Sudan from terrorism sponsor blacklist

 

The United States has formally removed Sudan from its state sponsors of terrorism blacklist, a move that could help the African country get international loans to revive its battered economy and end its pariah status.

 

 

 

The US Embassy in Khartoum said in a Facebook post that the removal of Sudan was effective as of Monday December 14, and that a notification to that effect, signed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, would be published in the Federal Register. It said the 45-day congressional notification period has lapsed.

 

 

 

The announcement came less than two months after the African nation pledged to normalise ties with Israel.

 

 

 

Sudan’s army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who doubles as the head of the Sovereign Council (the country’s highest executive authority) offered his “congratulations to the Sudanese people” in reaction to the announcement.

 

 

 

He said;

 

 

 

“It was a task accomplished… in the spirit of the December revolution”

 

 

 

Sudan is on a fragile transition to democracy following an uprising that led to the military’s ouster of former autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. The county is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government that seeks better ties with Washington and the West.