Twenty-two years and one day since their lives were upended by the bombings at the U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the survivors and the families of those killed have finalized a settlement with the government of Sudan, whose previous leader harbored the al-Qaida operatives responsible for those bloody attacks.
“My family was devastated by the bombing. My whole world was turned upside down. My career in the Foreign Service went down the tubes. But you know, through all of it, through every bit of it, I’ve always believed that justice would be served,” said Richards, who worked for the Commerce Department and was blinded in the Nairobi bombings.
For the Sudanese people, who overthrew genocidal dictator Omar al Bashir in a historic uprising last year — it is also a critical moment.
Amid widespread hunger and political instability, a new civilian transitional government has tried to steer the country through the uncertainty and toward democratic elections. But it has suffered under the yolk of international sanctions that block foreign aid and investment.
The Trump administration has said a settlement for those American families would unlock sanctions relief, including lifting Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism by the State Department — the most stringent of commercial penalties.
