Report: SPT
In a deadly escalation of extremist violence, Mali and Burkina Faso were rocked in May by a new wave of terrorist attacks carried out by Jama’a Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a group affiliated with al-Qaeda. The coordinated assaults killed approximately 150 civilians and military personnel and left dozens more injured.
On Saturday, May 24, JNIM fighters targeted the Dioura military camp in Mali’s central Mopti region, resulting in 67 casualties among soldiers, both killed and wounded. Just ten days earlier, on May 13, the group had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on the strategic northern town of Djibo in Burkina Faso, where more than 100 people were killed or injured. These back-to-back attacks underline the group’s sustained operational capacity and its growing influence across the Sahel.
Far from being isolated incidents, these attacks are part of a broader and escalating trend, signaling a geographic and strategic shift among Islamist extremist movements. Increasingly, such groups are shifting their base of operations from Asia to Africa, exploiting fragile state institutions, widespread poverty, illiteracy, and authoritarian rule, conditions that allow extremist ideologies to take root and thrive.
From Boko Haram around Lake Chad to the Macina Liberation Front and Ansar al-Dine in Mali, JNIM in both Mali and Burkina Faso, and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in Niger, the Sahel has become a central hub for jihadist operations in Africa and one of the world’s most volatile security flashpoints.
However, the threat is no longer confined to the Sahel. It is now extending into the heart of the continent through the Horn of Africa. Sudan, in particular, has emerged as a critical new front, with the rise of several well-organized, ideologically driven jihadist militias since the outbreak of its civil conflict on April 15, 2023.
These groups, many of them aligned with Sudan’s Islamist movement, include the Baraa ibn Malik Battalion, the Lightning Brigade (Barq al-Khatif), the Strategic Battalion, and the Elite Brigade, as well as several regionally or ethnically based militias. Among them, the Baraa ibn Malik Battalion is considered the most prominent and dangerous. It is currently fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Security analysts warn that these developments could mark the beginning of a new and more expansive jihadist wave, one that spreads from Sudan and the Horn of Africa deep into the African interior, with potential repercussions across the Arab world and the Red Sea corridor.
Legitimizing Jihadist Expansion Under the Army’s Banner
The “Baraa bin Malik Brigade” is considered one of the most prominent and dangerous shadow militias affiliated with Sudan’s Islamic Movement. Reports indicate that it was this very group that triggered the outbreak of the war, aiming to block any political settlement that might revive the path toward democratic transition.
On April 1, 2024, the brigade’s commander, Misbah Abu Zaid Talha, announced on his official Facebook page that its forces had grown to 21,000 fighters, prompting its reorganization into the “Baraa bin Malik Division.” Roughly one year later, on April 8, 2025, it was upgraded once again to the “Baraa bin Malik Corps,” with estimates suggesting its ranks had swelled to around 35,000. This rapid expansion points to a systematic, annualized growth strategy.
On April 19, the brigade issued an official statement declaring: “The Baraa bin Malik Corps in the Red Sea State announces the opening of recruitment for a new protection battalion to operate under the banner of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).”
In an exclusive interview with SPT, a Sudanese naval officer in Port Sudan revealed that the Baraa bin Malik Brigade is actively exploiting the ongoing war, using an official cover to recruit Sudanese youth. While it presents itself as fighting alongside the Sudanese army under the slogan “Defending the Homeland,” its training programs include hardline jihadist indoctrination, exposing a far deeper agenda than its public façade suggests.
The source added that the brigade relies on extremist religious rhetoric, systematically radicalizing recruits with jihadist ideology. It thrives in the security, ideological, and political vacuum created by the war, further emboldened by the Islamists’ resurgence in Sudan’s political landscape, allowing it to expand with little resistance.
“The most dangerous aspect,” the officer warned, “is that the brigade enjoys official patronage from key intelligence and military leaders. Its role in combat grants it political and military legitimacy, ensuring it will remain a powerful force shaping Sudan’s future, not just a temporary byproduct of the current war.”
A Ticking Time Bomb:
Military sources with direct knowledge of the matter reveal that the Al-Baraa Brigade, a radical Islamist faction, is receiving direct logistical and operational support from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The group maintains a joint coordination office with the army and is being deployed as a ground combat force in battles against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The sources confirm that the brigade now controls official military bases allocated to it by the state.
A security official told SPT that the brigade’s current headquarters in Port Sudan was formerly a Central Reserve Police facility, officially reassigned to the group after it upgraded its internal status to a “Corps” within SAF’s military structure.
The official warned that this alliance with a jihadi militia though presented as tactical grants the group dangerous political and military legitimacy, one that could escalate into a systemic threat in the event of state fragmentation.
“Relying on an extremist militia as a battlefield proxy is reminiscent of failed experiments where states ignited short-term tactical fires that spiraled into full-blown crises as with the Houthis in Yemen,” the source said.
From Proxy to Predator?
Political and military analyst Ahmed Abdel Hadi echoed these concerns, saying:
“The danger lies not only in the emergence of jihadist actors, but in their adoption by state institutions. History shows us how such proxies often outgrow their handlers, turning into monsters that devour the state itself.”
Abdel Hadi explained that Al-Baraa Brigade differs from other jihadist formations in Egypt and across Africa in that its leaders are carefully selected from among academically accomplished individuals. Many are graduates of scientific faculties, including engineering and medicine, in addition to their strict ideological training.
This hybrid background, he warned, gives the brigade a strategic technological edge:
“They are highly proficient in military tech, particularly drone warfare and today, they form the backbone of these operations. This is a dangerous double-edged sword: the threat is not confined to Sudan’s army but could spill across the entire region.”
Armament and Foreign Ties
The Baraa bin Malik Brigade does not operate in isolation from its regional environment. Several of its senior commanders have previously fought alongside jihadist factions in Libya and Somalia, and according to multiple sources, the group maintains active ties with al-Shabaab in Somalia as well as jihadist networks within Libya. A military-security source also confirmed to SPT that the brigade has established ongoing communication with emerging Islamist groups in Chad.
The brigade makes no attempt to conceal its transnational jihadist objectives. In a video statement (featured below), Al-Misbah Abu Zaid, the brigade’s commander, addresses a gathering of his fighters, declaring:
“Our immediate strategic goal is to establish the Islamic project in a unified Sudan. Our long-term objective, however, is to champion the cause of the oppressed across the globe.”
The same military source revealed that the brigade has obtained four Iranian-made drones, stating:
“They operate through complex and often opaque supply channels. They’ve also received additional weaponry and maintain a direct line of communication with Iran.”
Political and military analyst Ahmed Abdel Hadi issued a stark warning: “Sudan now stands on the edge of a jihadist volcano, encircling the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, stretching from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, all amid an alarming silence from both regional and international actors. Time is running out, and silence is no longer an option.”
Note: Some sources have been anonymized for security reasons.
