Recent revelations from within Sudan’s military reveal the deep entanglement of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country’s ongoing conflict. A senior commander of the Bara ibn Malik Brigade, aligned with the Brotherhood, admitted that SAF trained, armed, and indoctrinated their fighters, embedding them with combat skills down to “the last weapon.”
This admission contradicts claims by SAF leader Al Burhan, who recently denied any Brotherhood influence, asking, “Where are the Brotherhood here?” Yet the Bara ibn Malik forces confirm decades of integration into SAF, tracing back to 2011, evolving from a battalion into a full-fledged brigade and then a division as the war expanded.
The brigade, led by Al Misbah Abu Zaid Talha, operates under oversight from senior Brotherhood figures including Ali Karti and Osama Abdullah, while SAF generals such as Yasser Al Atta supervise from within the military. Sources indicate that internal loyalties split between competing factions, though the majority follow the Ali Osman wing, aligning closely with Karti and Ahmed Haroun. Despite internal divisions, both factions fight alongside SAF against Sudan’s civilian political opposition.
Bara ibn Malik is regarded as the most advanced Brotherhood-aligned militia in Sudan, with sophisticated training, advanced weaponry, and financial backing. Fighters have trained domestically under foreign military instructors, with some receiving specialised drone and weapons training in Iran. The division’s headquarters in Omdurman, adjacent to Karrari local offices, doubles as offices and housing for senior commanders.
Other formations within the Brotherhood’s network include:
Special Operations Battalion – Composed of former members of the Islamist regime’s Popular Security apparatus, originally formed along ethnic lines from Kordofan and Darfur to counter northern dominance within Bara ibn Malik. It operates under logistics and arms supplied by Ahmed Haroun, former leader of the National Congress Party, while coordinating with SAF intelligence on select operations.
Other brigades include:
- Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous
- Al-Barq Al-Khatif
- Aswad Al-Areen
The Elite Brigade mainly comprises former security and operations officers, volunteers, Popular Resistance members, and Central Reserve Police personnel, led by ex-intelligence officers. Several senior commanders have been killed in clashes with RSF, highlighting the ongoing lethal nature of these networks.
These revelations illustrate how the Muslim Brotherhood has embedded itself within SAF, shaping Sudan’s military strategies and prolonging the war, while civilians continue to bear the human cost of this deep-rooted political and military entanglement.
