US warns of 'al-Qaeda' threat
2008-10-11 16:23
Khartoum - The United States said on
Saturday a group called "Al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Niles"
has threatened its citizens and allies in Sudan, adding to fears
of a growing extremist presence in the country.
Embassy officials also said they had warned staff against
using a Khartoum cafe popular with Westerners and rich Sudanese.
The Sudanese government has repeatedly denied al Qaeda has
an active presence in Sudan.
A message on the US embassy website said the group had
issued a statement which referred to the murder of US aid
official John Granville and his driver on January 1.
The group said its "jihad and fight against the United
States of America and its allies of crusaders and apostates will
continue," according to the embassy.
'Particularly vulnerable'
Another US embassy message said it had warned staff not to
use the Ozone cafe in an affluent Khartoum district as it was
"particularly vulnerable".
Ozone is an open air cafe in the centre of a busy roundabout
surrounded by houses and businesses. Staff and customers are
clearly visible from the road and buildings.
An embassy spokesperson said she could not comment on whether
the Ozone warning was linked to the Al Qaeda threat.
There have been growing fears that extremist groups have set
up operations in Khartoum.
In August 2007, Sudanese security services said they had
broken up a plot to attack the French, British, US and UN
diplomatic missions in Khartoum.
The group was discovered in a Khartoum house after
explosives went off by accident, foreign sources said.
Five men are currently appearing in court in Khartoum
charged with the murder of John Granville and his driver
Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama 1. All five deny the charge.
Prosecutors said the group that killed Granville and his
driver targeted Americans it thought were trying to
"Cristianise" the predominantly Muslim nation.
Earlier this year, al Qaeda graffiti also started appearing
on walls in the capital.
Sudan, which hosted al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in the
1990s, has been on a US list of state sponsors of terrorism
since 1993.
- Reuters