This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
Published on May 22, 2020, the US State Department's top diplomat for Africa, Tibor Nagy, announced that the US and Sudan have reached a common understanding on the contours of a future bilateral claims agreement linked to the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The agreement would include compensation for non-US nationals killed and injured in the embassy bombings, according to Nagy. This comes days after the US Supreme Court ruled that Sudan cannot avoid punitive damages in lawsuits accusing it of complicity in the 1998 al Qaeda bombings that killed 224 people.
The ruling reinstates about $826 million out of a total $4.3 billion in punitive damages, said Christopher Curran, a lawyer representing Sudan. Nagy did not mention a specific amount for the compensations, stating that those details are being worked out.
The issue is a key component of efforts between the United States and Sudan to normalize relations after decades of antagonism. Both countries pledged to improve ties after the fall of veteran Islamist ruler Omar al-Bashir in an uprising a year ago.
