January 24, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - U.S. Congress members have urged President Donald Trump to not add Sudan to a newly expanded travel ban list to prevent potential terrorist acts.

Next Monday, the White House is expected to add seven countries including Sudan to mark the third anniversary of the initial travel ban announced on 27 January 2017.

In a letter addressed to Trump on 24 January, Karen Bass Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and three other Congresswomen - Barbara Lee, Dan Kildee and Pramila Jayapal - called on the U.S. president to reconsider adding Sudan to the new travel ban.

"We urge you to take Sudan off the list as it will negatively impact Sudan’s path toward democracy and peace," wrote the Congresswomen in their joint letter seen by Sudan Tribune.

The Congresswomen sent their letter from Khartoum where they are currently in a visit to see the ongoing democratic reforms undertaken by Sudanese government officials after the collapse of the al-Bashir’s regime.

The Congressional delegation met with Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, his foreign and justice ministers as well as civil society groups.

"While we recognize that this is a work in progress, Sudan has taken important steps to combat terrorism and to prevent the movement of bad actors," they said.

The Congresswomen further stressed that adding Sudan to the travel ban list will send a wrong message to the Sudanese government to the Sudanese people and the rest of the world.

"We encourage the administration to continue supporting Sudan on its path toward peace and democracy," they concluded their letter.

Sudan transitional government has been striving to convince Trump administration to remove the country from the state sponsors of terrorism list.

Washington recently said that Sudan’s removal from the blacklist depends on an agreement over the compensation for US victims of al Qaeda’s bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and another attack on USS Cole in 2000.

In January 2017, Washington banned the refugee admissions and new visas for citizens from Sudan and other Muslim countries. However, Sudan was removed from the list in September 2017.

(ST)