News Item
KHARTOUM, Sudan, Nov 16, 2003 (AP) -- The
U.S. Embassy reopened Sunday after a temporary closure due to
terrorism threats against American interests in Sudan.
A brief statement from the embassy said officials
were conducting a "constant review" of the security
situation to determine if it may be necessary to close the embassy
again.
The embassy has been closed since Tuesday
following what was called "a credible and specific threat"
to U.S. interests in the capital. U.S. and Sudanese officials did not
give details on the nature of the threat.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department alerted
Americans to terror threats in Sudan and told them to avoid travel to
the northeastern Africa country.
Although Sudan remains on the United States list
of terror-sponsoring states, Washington has applauded Khartoum's
efforts to combat terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and
said it would review its sanctions once the government signs a final
peace accord with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.
Peace talks are to resume in early December on
ending civil war that began in 1983 when rebels from the mainly
animist and Christian south took up arms against the predominantly
Arab and Muslim north. More than 2 million people have been killed in
the war, mainly through war-induced drought.
Sudan hosted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in
the 1990s and the region has been cited as a possible haven for
terrorists.
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