US issues terrorist designation for Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan

The United States has issued a decision to label the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan a terrorist organisation.

The designation, which will be effective in a week, comes after the US in January made the same declaration for several other Brotherhood branches, including in its historic base of Egypt.

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been at war with Sudan's army since April 2023, has welcomed Washington's decision.

The group said the move "reflects growing awareness of the scale of suffering the Sudanese people have endured during the past years".

The paramilitary group has widely been accused of committing mass atrocities in Sudan, with the United States saying last year that the RSF had carried out acts of genocide against black Sudanese.

Sudan's army has also been accused of links to the Brotherhood, which it denies.

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has a complex relationship with Islamists in the country and relies on them for support, but has denied having Brotherhood members in his government.

The UAE, which has been widely accused of arming the RSF, has welcomed the decision.

"The United Arab Emirates welcomed the announcement by the administration of US President Donald Trump to designate the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan as a terrorist organisation," the foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

The UAE has long opposed the Muslim Brotherhood and its political Islam.

The designation was likewise welcomed by a Sudanese civil coalition led by former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, who said it was "a reflection of the will of the vast majority of the Sudanese people who rose up" in the 2019 revolution.

The revolution led to a coup that toppled longtime Islamist-military autocrat Omar al-Bashir, but Hamdok and his civilian government were themselves then overthrown in a 2021 coup led by Burhan and his erstwhile ally, RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Announcing the new designation, the US accused the Brotherhood in Sudan of using "unrestrained violence against civilians to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict".