U.S. Embassy Worker Shot in Sudan Attack

WASHINGTON — An employee of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum was shot in the head Tuesday night and seriously wounded, the State Department said.

Department spokesman Anita Stockman said no organization has claimed responsibility for the shooting, and there was no immediate indication that it was linked to the U.S. bombing attack on Libyan targets.

However, hours before the embassy employee was shot, Sudanese riot police sealed off the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum after 200 demonstrators staged a protest march and chanted anti-American slogans.

The victim, who was listed in serious condition in a Khartoum hospital, was described as an embassy communications technician. Stockman said the victim’s name was not made public because of the Privacy Act, which prohibits the release of the names of individuals without their permission.

The State Department issued an advisory in November that the Sudanese capital was unsafe for Americans “due to the presence of known terrorists.”

Sudan, once a bitter enemy of Libya, has developed close ties to the Tripoli government since the ouster of former President Jaafar Numeiri.

National Public Radio quoted unnamed Administration sources as saying they presumed Libya was responsible because of a number of intelligence reports over the last two days that Libya was planning an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum.