Back مصنع الشفاء للأدوية Arabic Aš-Šifá Czech Asch-Schifa-Arzneimittelfabrik German Fábrica farmacéutica Al-Shifa Spanish Fabbrica farmaceutica di Al-Shifa Italian Eş-Şifa fabrikası Turkish 希法製藥廠 Chinese
| 1998 Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory missile strike | |
|---|---|
| Part of United States state terrorism | |
 U.S. reconnaissance satellite image of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in 1998 | |
| Location | Kafouri, Khartoum North, Sudan |
| Date | 20 August 1998 |
Attack type | Cruise missile strike |
| Weapon | Tomahawk missiles |
| Deaths | 1 civilian[1][2] |
| Injured | 11 civilians[1][2] |
| Perpetrators | United States |
The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory (Arabic: الشفاء, romanized: aš-šifāʔ, lit. 'remedy') in Kafouri, Khartoum North, Sudan, was constructed between 1992 and 1996 with components imported from Germany, India, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States. It was opened on 12 July 1997[3][4] and bombed by the United States on 20 August 1998. The industrial complex was composed of four buildings. It was the largest pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum and employed over 300 workers, producing medicine both for human and veterinary use.
The factory was destroyed in 1998 by a missile attack launched by the United States, killing one employee and wounding eleven.[1][2] The U.S. government claimed that the factory was used for the processing of VX nerve agent and that the owners of the plant had ties to the terrorist group al-Qaeda.
These justifications for the bombing were disputed by the owners of the plant, the Sudanese government, and other governments. American officials later acknowledged "that the evidence that prompted President Clinton to order the missile strike on the Shifa plant was not as solid as first portrayed. Officials would later state that there was no proof that the plant had been manufacturing or storing nerve gas- as initially suspected by the Americans- or that it had been linked to Osama bin Laden, who was a resident of Khartoum in the 1980s."[5] The attack took place a week after the Monica Lewinsky scandal and two months after release of the film Wag the Dog, prompting some commentators to describe the attack as a distraction for the public from the scandal.[6]
- ^ a b c Wright, Lawrence (2006). The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-375-41486-2.
- ^ a b c Barletta, Michael (Fall 1998). "Chemical Weapons in the Sudan: Allegations and Evidence" (PDF). The Nonproliferation Review. 6 (1): 116–117. doi:10.1080/10736709808436741.
- ^ "Exclusive FAV Interview w Builder of Sudanese Factory". Free Arab Voice.
- ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 16 Feb 1999 (pt 42)".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lacey, Marc (20 October 2005). "Look at the Place! Richard Dowden, then Africa Editor of the Economist, visited the factory the same week and explored the ruins. He confirmed there was no sign of any chemical weapons being made there. "If there had been I would be dead", he said. Sudan Says, 'Say Sorry,' but U.S. Won't". The New York Times.
- ^ "Wag the Dog Back In Spotlight". CNN. 20 August 1998. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2013.