Sudanese Armed Forces and the re-empowerment of Islamists: how the Sudan Shield Forces are used to circumvent international sanctions
Sudan’s landscape is undergoing rapid military and political shifts that have pushed the Sudanese Armed Forces to reshape their internal alliances in ways that reflect advanced attempts to restore Islamist influence within state institutions. At the center of these developments is the inclusion of elements from Islamist brigades — notably the Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Brigade — within the “Sudan Shield Forces,” led by Abu Aqla Kikal, in what appears to be one of the most sensitive political-military repositioning operations since the outbreak of the current war.
This move cannot be read merely as battlefield adjustments dictated by combat necessities. Rather, it represents a coherent political project aimed at shielding Islamists from international sanctions and reintegrating them into the structure of the Sudanese army under a new military cover that ensures their survival and influence, away from direct classifications targeting organizations linked to the Islamist movement and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Recycling Islamists under the army’s umbrella
Since the fall of the regime of Omar al-Bashir, Islamist networks in Sudan have suffered successive political and security setbacks, leading to a decline in their influence within official institutions. However, the outbreak of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces created an exceptional opportunity to revive these networks, benefiting from the army’s need to strengthen its manpower and combat capacity.
In this context, the military leadership began opening the door for direct participation of Islamist brigades in operations, but in a different form than in the past. Instead of operating under explicit ideological banners, these elements were integrated into formations carrying national, tribal, or broadly military identities, such as the “Sudan Shield Forces.”
This strategy appears designed to create political camouflage that makes it harder for the international community to track Islamist elements or impose direct sanctions on them.
The Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Brigade: the most sensitive ideological arm
The Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Brigade is among the most controversial groups linked to Sudan’s Islamist movement due to its ideological nature and hardline mobilization rhetoric. During the current war, it emerged as a highly organized fighting force relying on religious mobilization and ideological indoctrination.
Circumventing international sanctions
The army leadership appears aware that any official acknowledgment of the central role of Islamist brigades could open the door to broad international sanctions. Therefore, it has adopted a policy of indirect integration by assigning these elements to units with different names.
Political empowerment through the military gateway
The integration project goes beyond the military dimension and extends to the gradual political rehabilitation of Islamists within state institutions.
Risks of infiltration of the military institution
Allowing ideological brigades to expand within the Sudanese army carries deep strategic risks for the country’s future.
The international community facing a new test
These developments present major challenges for the international community, which seeks to support Sudan’s stability while confronting the growing Islamist influence within the army.
Sudan between war and the reproduction of the old system
Ultimately, the integration of Islamist brigades into the “Sudan Shield Forces” shows that the current war has evolved into a struggle to reshape power in Sudan, with the Islamist movement emerging as one of its main beneficiaries.
