Sudan Crisis: Is Sudanese army increasing influence of Muslim Brotherhood?
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S Panda
- . February 12, 2025
- . Update: February 12, 2025 2:12 pm
From the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the Middle East crisis, numerous regions across the globe are facing serious fighting, making it difficult to prepare a list of the most dangerous countries. Terror attacks, bombings and aid crises continue to threaten basic human rights.
Sudan is definitely one of the least peaceful countries today. Since 2023, the Sudanese people are facing a serious crisis as the Sudanese armed forces and a paramilitary group fight against each other. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.
Millions of others have been displaced, both internally and externally. The humanitarian situation in Sudan is dire. More and more people are in need of proper access to aid organisations for basic requirements.
Sudan’s female population taking the brunt of crisis
The female population of Sudan are experiencing serious harassment, abduction, rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence. These cases are rife in conflict zones and on asylum routes, and a lack of funding is critically hampering UNHCR’s response.
The UN agency has highlighted one example in a report from last year. Fatima (name has been changed for security reasons) and her four children thought the safest option as fighting broke out in Khartoum in 2023 is to stay indoors.
Her husband and eldest son had already been missing. But the 39-year-old at least had food and shelter from the chaos outside. But their sense of security hit a big problem as three armed men came to the door one day, looking for food.
One of the men later returned. He had his face hidden and threatened to shoot Fatima if she did not do as he said, reported UNHCR. She faced sexual exploitation on three separate occasions. Desperate for a safe route, she registered for a bus taking families to the border.
Fatima later found that she is pregnant. Determined to leave Sudan and the conflict behind, she sold the last of her gold to pay for the family’s journey across the border to neighbouring Ethiopia. She has received psychosocial support and been referred to the regional hospital.
Is Sudanese army increasing influence of Muslim Brotherhood?
Just a short time after the brutal conflict erupted in Sudan, The Times of Israel released a report about the possibility of the Sudanese army being connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. It released the report back on May 8, 2023.
The armed forces’ recent release of thousands of prisoners, including leaders of the former Muslim Brotherhood regime, has surprised many people of Sudan as they fought against the regime during the December 2018 revolution.
Despite ongoing trials for a coup and corruption, the army and the defunct regime leaders are operating together to undermine the revolution, according to the report. The release of the prisoners exposed their close relationship, it added.
The Times of Israel also reported that one of the released leaders has called on the Muslim Brotherhood to engage in fighting on the side of the Sudanese armed forces. There is a need for Sudanese citizens to mobilise their efforts to stop the fighting, it further mentioned.
Sudan’s Popular Resistance Forces (PRF) in focus
Last year, a leaked report from Sudan’s Islamic Movement highlighted its deep infiltration of the Popular Resistance Forces (PRF), civilian militias fighting alongside the Sudanese armed forces against the paramilitary, Sudan Independent quoted a copy obtained by Sudan Tribune.
The internal performance report entertains the period from 2023 to 2024, describing the ongoing conflict as a “continuation of the Zionist project in Sudan”. It also highlights the establishment of numerous PRF training camps.
