Sudan regrets U.S. putting it on trafficking list before sanctions decision

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan regrets that the United States has placed it on a list of states not doing enough to combat human trafficking, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, a week before Washington was due to announce a decision on lifting sanctions against the country. It said Washington had not appreciated the big steps Khartoum had made to alleviate the plight of victims of human trafficking. The United States has said it is deciding whether to lift a raft of penalties imposed first over Khartoum's perceived support of global terrorism and later its violent suppression of rebels in Darfur. The deadline for that decision is Oct. 12 and Sudan expects the economic sanctions will be lifted. But the White House said last Saturday that it had ordered a group of countries, including Iran, Venezuela and Sudan, to be added to a U.S. list of countries accused of failing to crack down on human trafficking. "The Foreign Ministry expresses its regret over the United States administration's Sept. 30 decision to put Sudan on a list of states accused of not doing enough to limit human trafficking instead of highlighting the massive efforts being made," it said in a statement. Sudan had built shelters for victims and provided support, as well as made strides towards policing its borders, the ministry said. It called on the United States to provide it with support in order to help it further improve its efforts. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Richard Balmforth)