Support continues to mount for the plan to halt the war in Sudan and to confront the extremist Muslim Brotherhood networks that have brought successive tragedies upon the Sudanese people for more than four decades.
In the latest development, the African Union (AU ) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on September 14 welcomed the “quartet” statement proposing a roadmap to end the war in Sudan.
Both organisations voiced their support for the call to ensure rapid humanitarian access and to protect civilians, and for the proposed three-month humanitarian truce – to be implemented through the Jeddah process – as a first step towards a permanent cessation of hostilities.
The joint statement said the quartet’s position “is fully aligned with the roadmap laid out by the African Union and IGAD to achieve peace in Sudan.”
The two parties announced their readiness to work in partnership with the quartet, with the Sudanese people, and with all partners to end the war, safeguard Sudan’s sovereignty and unity, and promote an inclusive, civilian-led political transition.
The statement said the African Union and IGAD, together with the League of Arab States, the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) will hold a new round of consultations in October with Sudanese civil society groups to reinforce national unity, prepare the ground for an all-inclusive Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue, and advance the transition to a constitutionally based civilian government.
A Roadmap:
On Friday, 12 September 2025, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt presented a proposed roadmap to rescue Sudan. The four foreign ministers called for a three-month humanitarian truce to enable the rapid delivery of aid, to be followed by a permanent ceasefire. They said the conflict between the army and the “Tasis Coalition forces” has produced “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” threatens regional peace and security, and that there is no military solution to the crisis.
They urged all parties to facilitate safe and swift humanitarian access by all routes, to protect civilians, and to halt indiscriminate attacks on infrastructure. They proposed an initial three-month humanitarian truce to pave the way for a permanent ceasefire, to be followed by a comprehensive nine-month transitional process leading to an independent civilian government with broad legitimacy. The ministers pledged to use all efforts to support a political settlement involving both sides, to pressure parties to protect civilians and infrastructure, and to secure humanitarian access.
The statement stressed the importance of confronting the threats posed by cross-border extremist groups and protecting Red Sea security. It warned that Sudan’s future cannot be determined by “violent extremist groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood,” and cautioned against their role in fueling violence and regional instability.
A Protective Measure for Society:
The quartet’s emphasis on confronting the Muslim Brotherhood was described by activist Walid Adam Madibo as a societal measure to protect the nation from corrupting forces that, if returned to the political stage, would bring ruin. He wrote: “In the Sudanese experience, the Islamists have transformed religion’s purpose; what was once a theology of liberation and solidarity with the oppressed has become a theology that shields tyranny and legitimizes despotism. The religion that once served to challenge injustice is now a wall behind which tyrants hide; the text that was meant to liberate people has become a pretext to justify repression. This mixture of sanctity harnessed for power and residues of exclusionary values produced an ideology that frames and legitimises repression.”
He added: “The loss is twofold: the forfeiture of religion’s emancipatory dimension and the erosion of politics’ moral boundary, leaving religion as a tool used to kill the public sense of justice and equality.” He argued that the Sudanese Islamist movement, the clique that dragged the country to ruin, combined both ills: entrenched political corruption and documented criminal complicity.
He insisted they “did not content themselves with corrupting public life and dismantling the state from within; they committed crimes against humanity witnessed by all. They are, truly, the devils of our era, blending intellectual betrayal, institutional destruction and criminal violations.”
U.S. Sanctions:
Meanwhile, in tandem with the quartet statement, the United States on 12 September 2025 announced sanctions on the Islamist militia “Al-Bara ibn Malik Brigade” and on Sudan’s finance minister Jibril Ibrahim for their roles in the ongoing civil war and their close ties to Iran.
The U.S. Treasury said the step aims to reduce the influence of Islamist groups within Sudan and to curb Iran’s regional activities, which have contributed to destabilization, exacerbated the conflict and compounded civilian suffering. The Treasury affirmed U.S. commitment to work with partners to achieve peace and stability in Sudan and to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for those who threaten American interests.
John K. Hurley, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said: “Sudanese Islamist groups have formed dangerous alliances with the Iranian regime. We will not stand idly by and allow them to threaten regional and global security. We are using sanctions tools to disrupt these activities and to protect U.S. national security.”
The Treasury noted that the sanctions follow the prominent role played by Islamist groups in undermining state institutions, especially during the three decades of former President Omar al-Bashir’s rule until his ouster in 2019. Since then, the Islamists have obstructed the democratic transition, including by undermining the civilian transitional government and the political framework agreement.
The Treasury accused Jibril, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, of mobilizing thousands of fighters to support the Sudanese army against the Rapid Support Forces, which resulted in the destruction of towns and the displacement of thousands of civilians. It said he sought to deepen political and economic ties with Iran, visiting Tehran last November.
The statement added that the Al-Bara ibn Malik Brigade, targeted by the sanctions, deployed more than 20,000 fighters against the RSF, relying on weapons and training provided by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that its members committed serious abuses including arbitrary arrests, torture and field executions of those suspected of ties to the RSF.
Sudanese activist Zuhair Osman Hamad said the quartet statement and the U.S. sanctions represent an effort to break the impasse over intervention in Sudan. He described the former as reflecting the international community’s hope to halt the humanitarian catastrophe and the latter as embodying the will to punish those who obstruct that hope and complicate the crisis through dangerous alliances.
He wrote that the U.S. sanctions on Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim (leader of the Justice and Equality Movement) and the Islamist militia “Al-Bara ibn Malik” are more than a response to corruption or abuses: they are a multilayered message that will disrupt complex regional alliances and, by exposing ties to Iran, strike several strategic targets at once, weakening Iranian influence in the Red Sea and Africa and penalizing Sudanese Islamists whom Washington accuses of aborting the democratic transition and igniting the war.
