diff --git a/manic/externals_description.py b/manic/externals_description.py
index b0c4f736a7..bd644c9814 100644
--- a/manic/externals_description.py
+++ b/manic/externals_description.py
@@ -180,6 +180,9 @@ def parse_submodules_desc_section(section_items, file_path):
             path = item[1].strip()
         elif name == 'url':
             url = item[1].strip()
+        elif name == 'branch':
+            # We do not care about branch since we have a hash - silently ignore
+            pass
         else:
             msg = 'WARNING: Ignoring unknown {} property, in {}'
             msg = msg.format(item[0], file_path) # fool pylint