State Dept. Allows Embassy Families to Leave Sudan
In the wake of large anti-U.S. and pro-Iraqi demonstrations in Sudan, the State Department on Friday authorized embassy dependents to leave the country and warned American private citizens to leave.
The revolutionary military government of Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir has sided with Iraq in the Persian Gulf crisis. Well-managed demonstrations have been reported in cities including the capital, Khartoum.
In addition, the State Department said there is reason to believe there is a high potential for anti-American terrorist attacks in Khartoum.
Government sources said this week that there is evidence that Iraqi-backed terrorists have been casing American installations in Khartoum in preparation for a possible wave of actions against U.S. diplomats and citizens if hostilities should break out in the gulf.
Elsewhere in the country, continuing drought and famine, compounded by civil war, have made the western and southern Sudan unsafe for travel.
The United States is a principal supplier of food aid to Sudan, despite the difficulty of delivering supplies to refugee centers, where an estimated 3 million to 4 million people are at risk of starvation.
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