Al-Shifa Pharmaceutical Factory

Al-Shifa Pharmaceutical Factory

The Al-Shifa (الشفاء, Arabic for "healing") pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum North, Sudan, was constructed between 1992 and 1996 with components imported from the United States, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, India, and Thailand.

The industrial complex was composed of around 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 used primarily for the manufacture of anti-malaria medicines and veterinary products.

The factory was destroyed in 1998 by a missile attack launched by the United States government, killing one employee and wounding eleven. Critics of the attack have estimated that up to tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians died throughout Sudan as the supply of necessary drugs was cut off. The US government stated several reasons for its attack:

• Retaliation for the 1998 United States embassy bombings against the US embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya.
• The alleged use of the factory for the processing of VX nerve agent.
• For alleged ties between the owners of the plant and al-Qaeda.

These justifications for the bombing were disputed by the owners of the plant, the Sudanese government, and other governments.