Extremist islam in Sudan: ‘More than 100’ joined IS

Between 100 to 140 young Sudanese men and women have joined the terrorist group Daesh (Islamic State, IS), according to the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

Last week, a 22-year-old student who joined the IS was reportedly killed in an air strike in Falluja, Iraq. Dozens of young Sudanese joined the ranks of IS in Iraq, Syria, and Libya last year.

Interior Minister Esmat Abdelrahman said that some militant groups exist in the states of Darfur, during a press conference on Wednesday. He did not reveal their identies but said that the make use of mosques to call on people to join their ranks.

“The police is doing its best to control these groups,” he said.

In Darfur, numbers of people have complained about the activities of these groups in mosques, asking locals to join groups such as the Nigerian Boko Haram.

Last March, residents in El Malha in North Darfur demanded the expulsion of foreign religious groups existing of several hundreds of people, who arrived from Mabrouka in Sennar state. They were accompanied by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and reportedly meant to stay in Kutum.

Members of Parliament also demanded the foreign groups to leave as they feared them to be affiliated with extremist Islamists.