Arab League urges US to remove Sudan from terror list

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM

The Arab League on Thursday called on Washington to remove Sudan from its list of states that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

Addressing a meeting of Arab justice ministers that kicked off in Khartoum on Thursday, league official Ahmed al-Amin Ould Akik urged Washington to lift all sanctions imposed on Sudan.

“This conference will issue recommendations as to how the league can best work towards having Sudan removed from the list,” Ould Akik said.

Mishaal bin Fahm al-Salami, chairman of the Arab Parliament (established by the league in 2004), also called for removing Sudan from the U.S. terrorism list.

According to al-Salami, the league plans to hold an international meeting in February to address the issue.

“We are in consultations with Sudan, the Arab League and other stakeholders with a view to holding an international hearing in February at the Cairo headquarters,” he said.

The event, he added, will be attended by representatives of the U.S Congress, NATO, the EU, the European Parliament, the Arab Parliament the African Union, along with other international bodies and multilateral institutions.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, for his part, who also attended Thursday’s meeting in Khartoum, called on assembled justice ministers to enhance inter-Arab cooperation with a view to ensuring regional security.

“We must also draft legislation to allow ourselves to fight transnational crimes such as terrorism, human trafficking cyber-offenses,” al-Bashir said.

Late last year, the U.S. lifted longstanding economic sanctions on Sudan but kept the country on its list of states that it accuses of sponsoring terrorism.