SUDAN: 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002866

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR S/CT - R Shore and NCTC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC EFIN KCRM KPAO PTER KHLS AEMR
SUBJECT: SUDAN: 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism

REF: STATE 175925

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General Assessment
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1. (SBU) Sudan remains a cooperative partner in the Global War on
Terror (GWOT). The Sudanese government has been a strong ally in
the war on terrorism, aggressively pursuing terrorist operations
directly involving threats to U.S. interests and personnel in Sudan.
Sudanese officials have indicated that they view their continued
cooperation with the USG as important and recognize the benefits of
U.S. financial, training, and security assistance. While the CT
relationship is strong at the working level, at the political level
a growing number of senior, hard-line Sudanese officials have begun
expressing a sense of resentment and distrust over recent actions by
the USG and questioning the benefits of their continued cooperation.
Their assessment reflects expectations that Sudan's cooperation on
CT warrants its removal from the list of State Sponsors of
Terrorism. At this time, however, there is no indication that the
Sudanese government will curtail its current level of CT cooperation
despite bumps in the overall bilateral relationship. The Sudanese
government continues to allow USG officers unrestricted access
throughout the country and the Sudanese continue to respond
positively to USG requests.

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Safe Haven Assessment
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2. (SBU) In recent months, Usama Bin Laden and other senior al-Qaida
leaders have called for the expansion of al-Qaida's presence in
Sudan in response to possible deployment of United Nations
peacekeepers in Darfur. This has led to speculation that some
individuals with varying degrees of association with al-Qaida have
taken steps to establish an operational network in Darfur. While
elements of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),HAMAS, and the
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) remain in Sudan, there are no
indications that al-Qaida affiliated extremists are active in
Darfur, and local sources often use the term "terrorist" to refer to
Janjaweed or local fighters, particularly Arabs. Al-Qaida
affiliated extremists, however, might be able to exploit the limited
reach of Khartoum's security services, the vast size of the country,
and the easy availability of black-market weapons in an attempt to
expand their presence without Sudanese government knowledge.

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Terrorist Groups/Organizations
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3. (SBU) As noted above, the elements of a few terrorist groups
remain in Sudan. However, with the exception of HAMAS-which the
Sudanese government considers to be freedom fighters rather than
terrorists-the Sudanese government does not appear to openly support
the presence of extremist elements in Sudan. The Sudanese
government has taken steps to limit the activities of these
organizations. As an example, Sudanese officials have welcomed
HAMAS members as representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA)
but have limited their activities to fundraising. The Sudanese
government has also worked hard to disrupt foreign fighters from
using Sudan as a logistics base and transit point for Jihadists
going to Iraq. However, significant gaps remain in the Sudanese
government's knowledge of and ability to identify and capture these
individuals. There is some evidence to suggest that individuals who
were active participants in the Iraqi insurgency have returned to
Sudan and are in a position to use their expertise to conduct
attacks within Sudan or to pass on their knowledge.


4. (SBU) The LRA led by Joseph Kony, continues to be a major
terrorist threat to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC),and Southern Sudan. Although the Government of Southern
Sudan has worked to mediate peace between the LRA and neighboring
countries and vowed to stamp out the LRA in Southern Sudan, little
tangible progress is evident, and the LRA continues to commit
atrocities against civilians in the south. Negotiations between the
LRA and the Ugandan People's Defense Forces (UPDF) continue, with
occasional interruptions, in Juba under the mediation of the
Government of Southern Sudan.

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Foreign Government Cooperation
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5. (SBU) In 2006, the Sudanese government has come under increasing
fire from countries like Canada, human rights groups, and the
lawyers of those detained extra-legally by the Sudanese government.
The result has been an erosion of the ability and willingness of the
security services to hold terrorist suspects until sufficient
evidence against them can be obtained as the Sudanese government
seeks to clean-up its human rights record. While Sudanese officials
regularly discuss counterterrorism issues with U.S. officials and
senior Sudanese security officials have visited the U.S. for
consultations, it remains to be seen how long the Sudanese
government will continue to be an active partner in the GWOT given
internal pressures and the deteriorating state of the bilateral
relationship with the U.S.


6. (SBU) Embassy Khartoum Point of Contact is Pol/Econ Counselor
Eric P. Whitaker. His e-mail address is whitakerep(at)state.gov and
his telephone numbers are 249-183-774-700 (Embassy) and
249-912159576 (cellular phone).

HUME