Sudanese medical students run off to join ISIS in Syria including daughter of senior diplomat: reports
June 28, 2015 (KHARTOUM) –Twelve Sudanese college students have secretly flown to Turkey to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to local press reports.
The students belong to the University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST) owned by the minister of health at the state of Khartoum Mamoon Humaida.
According to press reports, 7 of the students hold British passports, 2 hold Canadian passports while one holds American passport besides 2 holding Sudanese passports.
It has been reported that the daughter of Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadig whose name is Safinaz is among the missing students besides the daughter of a biochemistry professor at UNST while a father of a third missing student is a nephrologists at al-Zaitona hospital which is also owned by Humaida.
Among the names were Mohammed & Hamza Serar Hamza al-Hassan, the nephews of businessman Abdul-Basit Hamza, Eman Sideeg Abdul-Aziz, Zubaida Emad-Eddin, Mohammed Salim Mohammed Ahmed, Ibrahim & Mohamed Adil Bashir Ageed, Sagi Mohamed Osman and Amir Mamoun Sayed Ahmed al-Awad.
UMST student union official Ahmed Babiker was quoted as saying that he received phone calls from the parents of these students stating that their sons, all of whom are studying medicine, have gone missing since Friday night.
Babiker disclosed that 5 of them left for Turkey via Khartoum airport at dawn on Friday, saying that swift response from the intelligence services in Turkey and the UK prevented their entrance to Syria.
He added that another group left Khartoum on board a Fly Dubai flight.
“Higher authorities told us that the Turkish intelligence stopped the first batch which is comprised of five students and it has been confirmed that they were prevented from entering Syria and joining the Jihadist groups,” he said.
“Contacts are ongoing with the parents and the Sudanese government and also information has been passed on to Turkish and British authorities including copies of the missing students’ passports”, Babiker added
Press reports mentioned that a mother of a missing student arrived in Khartoum five days ago, saying that her son left the house on Friday in a sportswear after telling her that he is going to study with his colleagues but didn’t return home.
“His mother rushed for the airport and found his name among the list of the departing passengers on the Turkish airlines along with four others”, the report reads.
Babiker said the majority of the students at the UNST came to Sudan from Western countries particularly the UK, pointing that most of their families live abroad which makes them vulnerable to the extremist groups.
According to the available information, a female student has been arrested in Turkey but denied intentions to fly to Syria, saying her mother, who is a medical doctor in the UK, left for Turkey to find out where she is being detained.
On Friday, Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) released the general coordinator of the far-right One Nation Movement group and the openly supporter of ISIS, Mohamed Ali al-Gizouli.
A religious group affiliated with the One Nation Movement was thought to have been active in recruiting students at the UNST.
Last month, Sudan’s minister of Higher Education Sumaya Abu-Kushawa accused unnamed circles of actively recruiting students to join ISIS.
At the time, Sudanese 2nd Vice President Hassabo Abdel-Rahman blamed internal and external parties as well as international intelligence agencies for the phenomenon of extremism in the Arab and African communities.
Also, earlier this month sources told Sudan Tribune that an ISIS cell comprised of three Middle Eastern men and an Eritrean were arrested by the Sudanese authorities in the coastal city of Port Sudan on 10 June.
ISIS announced that one of its Sudanese fighters nicknamed Abu al-Fida al-Sudani was killed in their stronghold of al-Riqa.
(ST)