State­ Sponsored Terrorism - Sudan

Sudan in 1996 continued to serve as a refuge, nexus, and training hub for a number of international terrorist organizations, primarily of Middle East origin. The Sudanese Government also condoned many of the objectionable activities of Iran, such as funneling assistance to terrorist and radical Islamic groups operating in and transiting through Sudan.

Following the passage of three critical UN Security Council resolutions, Sudan ordered the departure of terrorist financier Usama Bin Ladin from Sudan in May. Sudan failed, however, to comply with the Security Council's demand that it cease support to terrorists and turn over the three Egyptian al­Gama'at al­Islamiyya (IG) fugitives linked to the 1995 assassination attempt of President Mubarak. Khartoum continued to deny any foreknowledge of the planning behind the Mubarak attempt and claimed not to know the whereabouts of the assailants.

Since Sudan was placed on the list of state sponsors of terrorism in August 1993, the Sudanese Government has continued to harbor members of several international terrorist and radical Islamic groups, including the Abu Nidal organization (ANO), Lebanese Hezbollah, the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), and the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) of Algeria. The National Islamic Front, which is the dominant influence within the Sudanese Government, also supports opposition and insurgent groups in Uganda, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

In April 1996 the Department of State expelled a Sudanese diplomat at the Sudanese UN Mission who had ties to the conspirators planning to bomb the UN building and other targets in New York in 1993. A Sudanese national, who pleaded guilty in February 1995 to various charges of complicity in the New York City bomb plots foiled by the FBI, indicated two members of the Sudanese UN Mission had offered to facilitate access to the UN building in support of the bombing plot.

Source: Patterns of Global Terrorism 1996 U.S. State Department