On March 31, 2021, the Secretary of State in the United States (US), Tony Blinken announced that the US has received $335M as settlement for victims of 1998 terrorist attacks at the US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
Sudanese government's compensation amount also includes settlement for the suicide bombing of USS Cole and the assassination of American diplomat John Granville in Khartoum in 2008. In addition to the $335M settlement, Sudan has also separately paid $72M to the family of 17 American service members who died in the USS Cole bombing.
Sudan has agreed to resort to this multimillion-dollar settlement after getting the state sponsor of terrorism designation lifted. After this payment for damage caused due to terrorist attacks, Sudan has received a shield from being sued in American courts. Furthermore, the State Department has also restored Sudan's sovereign immunity.
In December 2020, the US Congress under Trump’s administration passed a law to restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity. In October 2020, Sudan transferred $335M as compensation for the terrorist attack in an escrow account after getting lifted from the terrorist designation as well as normalizing relations with Israel. On March 11, 2021, the money was released from the escrow account as confirmed by State Department spokesperson to CNN.
Sudan, during the rule of President Omar al-Bashir, has been accused to shelter Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda and the nation was also found to support the terrorist organization in its operation. Al-Qaeda is responsible for killing 200 people and injuring thousands in 1998 in twin al Qaeda bombings on US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The militant organization also claimed the USS Cole suicide bombing, which led to the death of 17 American service members. Sudan sentenced four people to death in the murder of Granville in Khartoum in 2008.
The settlement by Sudan for victims of terrorist attacks has indeed paved a way for a healthy bilateral relationship with the US. The US government has also authorized aid to Sudan of approximately $1 billion, which includes debt relief. The two nations have also mutually agreed for the first time in 20 years to exchange ambassadors.
