Islamic State Spreading To Sudan?

Libyan newspaper Alwasat reports that a convoy carrying over 70 militants has arrived in the Islamic State held Libyan city of Sirte. The convoy originated in Sudan, traveling through the border region of Al-Kufra, and is to reinforce the Islamic State militants present in the area. While unconfirmed, the report is not the first time aid to Libyan Jihadists has been sent by Sudan, as the Sudanese attempted to ship weaponry to the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Libya Dawn back in December.

Earlier on Free Fire we reported on several medical students in Sudan fleeing the country in order to join Islamic State in Syria, with the likely aid and blessings of the Sudanese government, known supporters of Islamist terrorism. Since then reports have surfaced of the students serving as medics in Islamic State territory. One of the students replied on Twitter that they were in Syria “for the sake of Allah” a term typical used to refer to jihad. Another of the students, using the nom de guerre of Abu Amir al-Muhajir, appeared in a video encouraging Muslims employed in the medical profession to head to Syria and enlist with Islamic State. The video with al-Muhajir displays the medical facilities available to Islamic State in the Deir Ezzor province of Syria. Of particular note is that al-Muhajir explicitly targets Muslim doctors in Britain and Sudan in his recorded address.

As of last year, an obscure Salafist group in Sudan, known as Al-Attasam belKetab wa al-Sunna, openly endorsed Islamic State. Al-Attasam belKetab wa al-Sunna was formerly associated with the Sudanese branch of Muslim Brotherhood until 1991, when it broke with the group. The group has also been linked to AQIM in the past as well.

Whether or not Al-Attasam belKetab wa al-Sunna’s sympathies are shared by the current government of Sudan is unknown, but it is known that Sudan has supplied Islamic State and other jihadist groups in the Middle East with arms. A report from The New York Times details Kurdish fighters using Norinco CQ rifles (a Chinese copy of the M16 rifle used by the US military, primarily intended for export) captured from Islamic State. These particular rifles, though their serial numbers were almost completely machined off of their receivers, were traced to being license produced in Sudan and distributed by the Sudanese intelligence service. The exact same model of rifle was used by anti-South Sudanese rebels supplied by the Sudanese government. With the revelation that at least some individuals within the Sudanese government had known beforehand of the medical student’s flight to Turkey and Syria, there’s reason to believe that Sudan may be playing a dangerous game with Islamic State.