Who is financing and arming Islamist militias in Sudan?
Several analysts offer a close look at these Islamist groups and their movements, especially since the dissemination of images and videos of their entry into Khartoum aboard army tanks, as well as the foreign entities that finance them.
Fund smuggling
Ayman Othman Hassan, a member of the media department of the Sudanese Congress Party, points to Turkey as the main global sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood. He mentions that the leaders of the Islamic movement in Sudan transferred their money to Turkish banks, adding: “The curious thing is that Ankara is a very secular country that separates religion and politics, which shows that this is an economic interest, not a matter of principle.”
Islamists, as the main base for dozens of battalions and armed militias supporting the regime in Port Sudan, have given Turkey access to the country's resources to continue the looting. After the fall of the Islamist regime led by Omar al-Bashir, hundreds of millions of dollars were smuggled into Turkey.
These funds were reused to sabotage the transition period through public relations companies tasked with manipulating public opinion, with the collaboration of their allies in armed groups, including men close to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his intelligence service, according to Hassan.
The Sudanese analyst warns of Turkey's current sponsorship of Muslim Brotherhood militias, especially the “Al-Baraa bin Malik” group, which has been provided with Bayraktar drones, which have not even been delivered to the military loyal to al-Burhan. This reveals the direction the Sudanese conflict is taking if the war continues unchanged.
There are also reports of extremists from the Al-Baraa bin Malik militia being sent to Sudan to receive training in the use of Turkish drones, making this technology a highly advanced weapon outside the control of al-Burhan's generals. In addition, recent attacks on Port Sudan airport targeted Turkish drones, and an evacuation aircraft was indeed sent to rescue the Turkish technical team training the militiamen.
Hassan fears that the situation will evolve until the Muslim Brotherhood gains complete control of the regime structures in Port Sudan, which would lead the country to total catastrophe.
Tripartite support for Islamists
Sudanese people have not forgotten the moment when Al-Misbah Abu Zaid Talha, leader of the extremist militia Al-Baraa bin Malik, appeared in front of the Qatari embassy in Khartoum last March, greeting Doha for its support and celebrating the takeover of the capital with an armed group.
Sudanese journalist Bushra Ali expresses her surprise at claims that al-Burhan's group has stopped arming Islamists, when these same Islamists have become the armed wing of the Port Sudan regime and control the decision to continue or stop the war. Even the religious leader of the Islamic movement, Abdelhay Youssef, openly stated: “Al-Burhan cannot be trusted.”
The journalist explains that “Turkey, Qatar, and Iran are arming Islamists outside the official channels of the Port Sudan regime,” and that the only one with a war and post-war plan is the commander of the Al-Baraa militia, the aforementioned Misbah Talha. She cites a video in which he appears planning, declaring that his project is to defend the oppressed throughout the world, the same rhetoric used by Al Qaeda.
The “oppressed” to whom Talha refers are, according to Bushra Ali, the Islamic movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen, all of which are supported by Iran with money and weapons.
Bushra Ali recalls Hassan al-Turabi's project in the 1990s, when he attempted to implement a similar initiative by founding a global party called the Arab and Islamic People's Congress. He adds that the difference between al-Turabi and al-Misbah is that the former had the institutions of al-Bashir's regime behind him, while the latter is relying on the current vacuum.
The European Center for Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, in a report published by The Washington Post, reveals documents and communications showing that a Turkish company has been secretly trafficking weapons to forces in Port Sudan. Last September, a secret shipment of Turkish drones and missiles was sent to al-Burhan.
According to the report, a team from Baykar, Turkey's largest defense company, was present to ensure the success of the operation. Once the drones were activated, exchanges of messages began between Port Sudan and Ankara about the attacks carried out, which the newspaper details extensively.
The US media outlet documented this unusual exchange of information through text messages, phone calls, photos, videos, weapons documents, and financial records. Some of this information was verified with phone, trade, and satellite data.
These documents reveal, in surprising detail, how a powerful Turkish defense company financed the devastating civil war in Sudan, which has been ongoing since 2023 and has been described by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe.
The same report notes that, according to contracts and end-user certificates, Baykar—a company partly owned by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law—sent at least $120 million worth of weapons to al-Burhan's forces last year, including eight Bayraktar drones and hundreds of explosive warheads. This information was confirmed by messages and flight tracking documents.
Baykar is the Turkish army's main drone supplier and the country's largest defense exporter. Its advanced TB2 model can carry more than 300 pounds of explosives and is manufactured with numerous US-made components.
Militia leadership
Security and defense researcher Mohamed Al-Sunni indicates that the Al-Baraa bin Malik militia is led by three figures from the Islamic movement: Anas Omar, Misbah Abu Zaid Talha, and Hudhayfa Istanbul. However, when the Rapid Support Forces arrested Anas Omar, former governor of the dissolved National Congress Party in Khartoum, in May 2023, Misbah Abu Zaid took over the leadership of the militia.
According to the Ayin network, this militia is made up of thousands of young people and men who work in private companies, banks, and businesses, most of whom belong to a middle class that has been wealthy due to its proximity to the former regime, which granted them privileges in recent years, either directly or through their families.
Al-Sunni explains that al-Burhan does not consider this militia a direct threat, except at certain levels. For example, when he called on civilian forces to return to the country and apologize, the leader of Al-Baraa posted a controversial statement on Facebook challenging the de facto regime in Port Sudan, which he later retracted in response to Western demands to form a government headed by Abdallah Hamdok and restore the order that existed prior to the military coup of October 25, 2021.
The militia uses social media to disseminate news about its military operations and political positions. Its posts often focus on the movements of its commander Misbah Talha Abu Zaid, including videos of military operations in Khartoum and the Al-Jazirah region, where he often issues direct orders to his fighters, who obey him with considerable discipline.