The United States has included pursuing the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan as part of the priorities of its new counterterrorism strategy, according to an official document released by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling an expansion in the classification and targeting of groups Washington considers linked to extremism.
The document stated that the United States “will continue to use its various tools to designate and target global terrorist networks and foreign terrorist organizations operating in Africa,” adding that this includes “the designation of branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan and Egypt.”
The strategy identified Sudan as one of several regions facing what it described as a “renewed terrorist threat” across Africa, alongside West Africa, the Sahel region, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, and Somalia. It said groups affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaeda had exploited security vacuums to rebuild their networks.
ISIS and al-Qaeda are internationally designated terrorist organizations accused of carrying out widespread violence and serious human rights abuses.
The document described the Muslim Brotherhood as the “ideological root” of several modern Islamist extremist movements, stressing that the U.S. administration would continue classifying Brotherhood branches in the Middle East and Africa as foreign terrorist organizations.
It added that Washington’s approach in Africa would rely on intelligence cooperation, support for allied governments, and limited military operations, while maintaining the capability to intervene against groups considered a direct threat to American interests.
Sudan’s inclusion in the strategy comes as war continues between General al-Burhan’s SAF and the RSF since April 2023, amid growing international concerns over expanding security vacuums and the possible rise of extremist activity.
Observers say the direct reference to the “Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan” reflects an increasingly hardline U.S. position toward Sudanese Islamist movements and could pave the way for new political and security measures in the coming period.
