Terrorism in Sudan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Terrorism in Sudan - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that terrorism is one of the most complex problems facing the modern world at present. It is difficult to tackle terrorism effectively because of the wide spread roots of terrorism in different countries. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan etc are some countries from which the terrorists are operating. At present war on terror is going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. However, Sudan has not faced such problems even though its role in encouraging terrorist activities suspected for the last few years. â€Å"The U.S. has charged the Sudanese government of being liable for the al-Qaeda attack on the USS Cole missile destroyer in 2000†. Moreover, U.S. believes that Sudan is supporting various terrorist organizations in many ways to conduct attacks in various parts of the world including America. Since Sudan is a country with a poor economy, it is easy for the terrorists to operate from its soil. It should be noted that poor countrie s normally have weaker administration and hence terrorists may not face many problems while operating from such countries. Poverty, unemployment, lack of education of the people, religious fundamentalism etc are some of the major factors which contribute heavily to the development of terrorism in Sudan. Sudan is a strategic location for many of the terrorists. Majority of the people in Sudan are Muslims and they do not have enough education. Moreover, it borders with some of the prominent Muslim states like Egypt, Libya and some of the Muslim dominated African countries. Religious fundamentalism is widespread in Sudan because of lack of education of its public. These are the factors, which encourage Osama Bin Laden and his followers to select Sudan as his country of operation in the 1990s. America knows very well that Sudan is playing a major role in the spreading of various kinds of terrorist activities all over the world. It is believed that Sudan is currently providing military training and support to terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Algeria's Armed Islamic Group etc. Moreover, many of the Islamic terrorist groups in other parts of the world are sending their people to Sudan for getting proper training on conducting terrorist activities. The current Sudanese president is behaving like a dictator and he is using iron fist to suppress the agitations against his administration. Because of that, internal problems and political unrest are common in Sudan. The northern and southern regions of Sudan are behaving like independent states even though the current president is trying hard to stamp his authority all over Sudan. America has enforced lot of economic embargos and sanctions with the help of UN against Sudan for the last few years. They have also listed Sudan in the category of State Sponsors of Terrorism from 1993 onwards. From 1996 onwards, Sudan is under diplomatic sanctions by the UN.â€Å"The U.S. government offered to take Sudan off its State Sponsors of Terrorism list in exchange for the northern government allowing a referendum on southern secession to take place without obstruction† (U.S. Offers to Remove Sudan from State Sponsors of Terrorism List, p.39). However, the northern government is not much i nterested in this offer and hence internal agitations are still going on in Sudan. â€Å"In 2008, the International Criminal Court at The Hague charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur† (National Security p.86). In fact, the ICC issued arrest warrant against the president in 2009. Even though human right activists have seen this arrest warrant as a positive step, so far the president has been successful in avoiding or ignoring the arrest warrant. Al-Bashir’s anti-American or anti-western stands are inspirational to the terrorists in Sudan. His remarks against America and