Sudan seen abandoning Muslim Brotherhood to repair relations with Egypt

by WorldTribune Staff, February 16, 2017

Sudan has reportedly been expelling Muslim Brotherhood members in an effort to mend ties with Egypt.

Khartoum in the past two months has expelled “tens” of Muslim Brotherhood members who sought refuge in Sudan following the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, according to a report by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper.

Sudanese President Omar Bashir, left, meets with Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi.

The newspaper quoted an Islamist source who said that Sudanese authorities “sent indirect messages” to Egyptian Islamists suggesting that it “is better for them to leave Sudan.” Some of them traveled to Malaysia and others to Turkey, the report said.

Several Egyptian newspapers hailed the news, while some denied it was true.

Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi met with his Sudanese counterpart Omar Bashir in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last month and they agreed to begin a new phase of bilateral relations, a joint statement said.

Bashir told Al Arabiya in an interview on Feb. 12 that his relationship with Sisi is “very distinct,” but the Sudanese leader denied that his regime had hosted Muslim Brotherhood members.

Following the Arab Spring uprisings, members of the Muslim Brotherhood across the region flocked to Sudan to reassemble themselves and hold meetings, an expert on Islamist groups told Asharq al-Awsat.

But due to pressure from Gulf states and the United States, he said, Sudan has “reconsidered” its stance towards the group.

“Cairo demands a complete dry-out for Muslim Brotherhood presence in Sudan in addition to the extradition of those wanted,” he told the newspaper, adding that it is one the most detrimental issues with regards to diplomatic ties between the countries.

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