The report, released on Aug. 5, said both Damascus and Khartoum have
been working with the United States against Al Qaida-aligned insurgents. The
department, however, said Sudan and Syria continue to harbor insurgency
groups, including Al Qaida elements linked to Iraq and Somalia.
"The Sudanese government continued to pursue counterterrorism operations
directly involving threats to U.S. interests and personnel in Sudan," the
report said. "Sudanese officials have indicated that they view their
continued cooperation with the U.S. government as important and recognize
the potential benefits of U.S. training and information-sharing."
But officials said Sudan has been resentful of Washington's decision to
keep Khartoum on the State Department's terrorist list. Still, they said,
Sudan has not given any indication that it would reduce CI cooperation with
the United States.
The report said Sudan has harbored such groups as Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad, both designated by the State Department as terrorist. Sudan,
however, was said to have limited Hamas's 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
terrorists going to Iraq," the report said. "However, gaps remain in the
Sudanese government's knowledge of these individuals and its ability to
identify and capture them."
"There was 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 to local Sudanese extremists," the report said. "There
was also evidence that Sudanese extremists participated in terrorist
activities in Somalia."
Syria was also reported as having helped decreased insurgency activity.
The report said the regime of President Bashar Assad has sharply reduced the
flow of Al Qaida insurgents into neighboring Iraq.
"In 2009, Syria increased border monitoring activities, instituted
tighter screening practices on military-age Arab males entering its borders,
and agreed to participate with the U.S. and Iraqi governments in a
trilateral border security assessment of the Syrian side of the Syrian-Iraqi
border," the report said.
But the State Department cited Syria's harboring of such groups as
Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command. The report said Syria has enabled these groups to
conduct operations.
"In addition, the Syrian government has made no attempt to restrict the
operation, travel, or movement of these groups’ leaders or members," the
report said. "Syria allows terrorist groups resident in its territory to
receive and ship goods, including weapons, in and out of the country."