Sudanese authorities arrest 13 Egyptians said to be Muslim Brotherhood members

Sudanese security forces arrested 13 Egyptians they claim are members of the Muslim Brotherhood during raids on the residential quarters of foreigners living in Khartoum over the last few days.

The arrests followed an explosion in an apartment that was reportedly inhabited by Syrians, Egyptians and Sudanese expatriates, and resulted in the amputation of one of the residents’ limbs, according to a source who is in close contact with one of the Egyptian detainees and spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity.

The Egyptian detainees are currently being held by Sudanese intelligence, according to the source, although there are ongoing efforts for their release.

“Some of the detainees may be deported,” the source explained, adding that several of them are facing heavy sentences back home in Egypt.

Another source who is in close contact with the Muslim Brotherhood explained that the arrests in Khartoum have included a number of foreigners in Sudan, not just those allegedly associated with the Brotherhood.

The arrests follow recent statements by longstanding Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in which he accused Egypt’s intelligence agencies of hostility towards Sudan, and a television interview with Bashir in early February, in which he stressed the sovereignty of Sudan over the disputed Halayeb Triangle along Egypt’s southeastern border, threatening to take the matter to the UN Security Council if necessary.

Despite the tension, security cooperation between Egyptian and Sudanese intelligence agencies has been strong in recent months, according to a Sudanese journalist, who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity.

“I know they (Sudanese authorities) asked some Brotherhood figures to leave Sudan at the request of Egyptian intelligence, and that some of these individuals have since relocated to Turkey and Qatar,” the journalist said, adding that Egyptian security agencies have been keeping a close eye on Sudanese oppositional figures that have visited Cairo. 

For example, “Sadiq al-Mahdi (leader of Sudan’s National Umma Party), was prevented from engaging in any public activities, and members of the Sudanese Communist Party from taking part in a seminar at the office of one of Egypt’s socialist parties.”