A new appearance of a leader of the 'Al-Bara' Battalion', classified as a terrorist group, in a video clip circulating on social media, has reinforced accusations against the Muslim Brotherhood organization of exploiting the war in Sudan to seek a return to power, after being ousted in the April 2019 revolution.

According to activists who shared the clip, the leader was addressing students inside a school, coinciding with escalating warnings about dangers threatening the future of millions of children in Sudan, as the Al-Bara' Battalion - the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood - continues to infiltrate schools, amid accusations of exploiting the educational environment for mobilization and recruitment operations.

According to the Sudanese National Observatory for Human Rights, the leaders of the Al-Bara' Battalion have been moving freely within schools, targeting vulnerable children and students, demanding that educational institutions not be exploited and turned into arenas for recruitment or political mobilization.

Al-Bara' Battalion Infiltrates

Recent times have witnessed a notable infiltration of the Al-Bara' Battalion into schools, raising growing concerns about the role played by the battalion, as one of the most prominent Brotherhood formations supporting the Sudanese army during the fighting in Khartoum and other areas of the country.

In March, the United States designated the battalion a foreign terrorist organization and subsequently imposed sanctions on it, accusing it of fueling the conflict and maintaining ties with Iran.

Concerns about the battalion's impact on school students increased after its leader, Al-Misbah Talha, visited a number of schools, addressing students with slogans calling for combat mobilization and glorifying war, and appeared in a video clip honoring an outstanding student by presenting her with the battalion's emblem, which is accused of committing serious violations, including beheadings and disembowelments.

During his repeated visits to schools, the battalion leader is keen to raise slogans that mobilize students and motivate them to fight. Observers believe this approach recalls policies followed by the Muslim Brotherhood organization during the 1990s, when it pushed thousands of students into the civil war that ended with the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

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Infiltration of Schools

Since coming to power in 1989, the Muslim Brotherhood organization focused on infiltrating schools and universities, worked to dominate the administrations of educational institutions and student unions, turned them into platforms for cadre recruitment, and tightened its grip on curricula.

Educational expert Dr. Hassan Abdel Mowla told Sky News Arabia: 'Schools are not arenas for propaganda or mobilization, and must remain free from any religious, ideological, political, or military exploitation. Involving students in such discourses represents an assault on the neutrality of education, undermines the school's role in building critical thinking and citizenship values, and exposes children to the risk of polarization and extremism instead of education and proper upbringing.'

Abdel Mowla added: 'Protecting schools from any religious, ideological, political, or military exploitation is not just an educational issue, but a national and legal responsibility, and a fundamental condition for preserving children's right to a safe education independent of conflicts and polarizations.'

Recruitment Campaigns

The Sudanese National Observatory for Human Rights has documented systematic campaigns to recruit school students by the battalion that fights alongside the Sudanese army.

Human rights defenders say these practices reflect a flagrant violation of international laws, complicating accountability efforts and increasing the risk of further violations against civilians.

International laws and covenants criminalize the recruitment of children and their use in armed conflicts. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols prohibit the involvement of children in hostilities. Rule 136 of the International Committee of the Red Cross rules absolutely prohibits the recruitment of children by armed forces or groups.

Lawyer and legal expert Al-Moez Hadhra considered that the recruitment of children carried out by the Al-Bara' Battalion and other armed groups constitutes a serious crime under international law and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Hadhra explained to Sky News Arabia: 'The convention explicitly prohibits the involvement of children in hostilities or their recruitment, considering it a serious violation of children's rights and international humanitarian law.'

These developments highlight the growing concern over the exploitation of educational institutions in the Sudanese conflict, amid warnings that turning schools into platforms for religious, ideological, and military mobilization threatens an entire generation and undermines the role of education as one of the most important pillars of peace and stability in the post-war period.