| The United States
and Sudan in mid-2000 entered into a dialogue to
discuss US counterterrorism concerns. The talks,
which were ongoing at the end of the year, were
constructive and obtained some positive results.
By the end of the year Sudan had signed all 12 international
conventions for combating terrorism and had taken
several other positive counterterrorism steps, including
closing down the Popular Arab and Islamic Conference,
which served as a forum for terrorists.
Sudan, however, continued to be used as a safehaven
by members of various groups, including associates
of Usama
Bin Ladin's al-Qaida
organization, Egyptian al-Gama'a
al-Islamiyya, Egyptian
Islamic Jihad, the Palestine
Islamic Jihad, and HAMAS.
Most groups used Sudan primarily as a secure base
for assisting compatriots elsewhere.
Khartoum also still had not complied fully with
UN Security Council Resolutions 1044, 1054, and
1070, passed in 1996--which demand that Sudan
end all support to terrorists. They also require
Khartoum to hand over three Egyptian Gama'a fugitives
linked to the assassination attempt in 1995 against
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia.
Sudanese officials continued to deny that they
had a role in the attack.
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