![ANCExplorer George Curtis Moore grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/ANCExplorer_George_Curtis_Moore_grave.jpg)
George Curtis Moore (September 7, 1925 – March 2, 1973) was an American diplomat who was assassinated during a
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
attack on the
Saudi embassy in
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
.
Diplomatic career in Sudan
Moore was the principal foreign service officer in the United States Interest Section in Khartoum. The U.S. Embassy closed in 1967 during the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
. A U.S. Interest Section was established in the Netherlands embassy. Moore, a career foreign service officer, was assigned to the U.S. Interest Section as Principal Officer in July, 1969.
He was an Arabist by training.
Upon the re-opening of the U.S. Embassy on July 25, 1972, Moore became Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, which is the title given to the person acting as interim ambassador.
Assassination
On March 1, 1973,
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
terrorists with
Black September
Black September ( ar, أيلول الأسود; ''Aylūl Al-Aswad''), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein ...
stormed the Saudi Embassy during a farewell reception for Moore. Several ambassadors, including the Soviet, British, and French ambassadors and the
Papal Nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
, escaped. The French ambassador escaped by climbing the embassy walls. The next day, Moore was shot to death. Newly arrived U.S. Ambassador
Cleo A. Noel, Jr.
Cleo Allen Noel Jr. (August 6, 1918 – March 2, 1973) was a United States ambassador to Sudan who was murdered by the Black September (group), Black September Palestinian terrorist organization in the 1973 attack on the Saudi embassy in Khar ...
and Belgian Chargé d'Affaires
Guy Eid were also murdered. The terrorists surrendered and were sentenced to jail. They were deported prior to serving their sentences.
Moore is buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
See also
*
List of assassinated American politicians
This is a list of assassinated American politicians sorted alphabetically. They were elected or appointed to office, or were candidates for public office.
There are 53 assassinated American politicians listed. The most common method of homicide w ...
*
List of assassinated people
This is a list of assassinations, sorted by location.
For the purposes of this article, an assassination is defined as the deliberate, premeditated murder of a prominent figure, often for religious, political or monetary reasons.
Africa
The ...
References
1925 births
Assassinated American diplomats
Kidnapped diplomats
Kidnapped American people
Terrorism deaths in Sudan
American terrorism victims
American people murdered abroad
1973 deaths
People murdered in Sudan
Deaths by firearm in Sudan
Victims of the Black September Organization
African-American diplomats
American diplomats
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
1973 murders in Sudan
Terrorist incidents in Sudan in the 1970s
American expatriates in Sudan
20th-century African-American people
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