Sudan rules out bombardment by the US
Sudan-USA, Politics, 12/13/2001

Sudan's vice President Ali Othman Muhammad Taha has ruled out the US to strike Sudan in the scale of its campaign against terrorism, noting that there are no reason for that.

The independent " al-Khartoum" daily quoted Taha as saying during his meeting with chief editors of local press that " we do not have any thing that makes us fear an American strike and we find no reason for a strike as such." Taha indicated that the Sudanese government has realized that certain circles in the US try to convince the American administration to resort to a tough attitude against Sudan and accused these circles, which he did not identify, as provoking the US administration to direct strikes at Sudan.

On November 21st, the Sudanese presidential advisor Qutbi al-Mahdi announced that Sudan, at the pressure of the US proposed to hand over Osama Bin Laden to Saudi Arabia before he left al-Khartoum in 1996 but the proposal was not positively met by the Saudis.

The Sudanese official added the US exerted pressures on Sudan to expel Bin Laden but Saudi Arabia said no and the US did not want him then.

Former Saudi intelligence chairman prince Turkey al-Faisal announced by the beginning on November that al-Khartoum proposed handing over Bin Laden to Saudi Arabia but asked for guarantees for his security and to be not tried in the Kingdom. A matter which made al-Riyadh refused this proposal.

Al-Mahdi, on the other hand, stressed that Sudan does not produce chemical weapons as claimed anti- Sudanese sides in the US especially by the "Zionist Lobby" and the churches.

In recent years, the US accused Sudan of backing terrorism and on August 20, 1998 bombarded a factory for medicine production under the pretext that it was used to manufacture chemical weapons.

Previous Stories:
  American proposals for peace in Sudan acceptable, Sudanese official says   (12/12/2001)
  Sudan prepares replies to Danforth proposals   (12/7/2001)
  Sudanese reservation on an American proposal   (11/30/2001)

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