A Sudanese political analyst says Sudan will have a hard time finding the cash to pay the punitive damages imposed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In a unanimous decision Monday, the Supreme Court reinstated a lower court ruling that ordered Sudan to pay $4.3 billion in punitive damages to some of the victims of the 1998 embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar el Salaam carried out by al-Qaida.

Court affirmed 2011 ruling

Nine years ago, a U.S. Federal District Court judge in Washington said Sudan should pay about $6 billion in compensation and roughly $4 billion in punitive damages for the 1998 bombings.

Sudan's Ministry of Justice said in a statement Monday that "$7.4 billion of the total $10.2 billion against Sudan remains subject to further litigation," since the decision ordered the D.C. Circuit to reconsider its decision that foreign plaintiffs who sued Sudan under state law in the U.S. could not seek punitive damages.

State sponsor of terrorism designation

Analyst Himmat said Sudan must continue to resolve past charges involving acts of terrorism in order to clear its name with the U.S. government.