In a bold and contentious move, a Sudanese coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday announced the formation of a parallel government — a step strongly opposed by the army and one that threatens to push the war-torn nation closer to partition amid an ongoing two-year civil war.
The government led by RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country.
The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions.
The RSF controls much of the west of the country such as the vast Darfur region and some other areas but is being pushed back from central Sudan by the army, which has recently regained control over the capital Khartoum.
Military Condemns RSF
The military led by career army officer General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had condemned the idea of the RSF creating a parallel government and promised to keep fighting until it controls all of Sudan, which has been plagued by conflicts, coups, poverty and hunger.
In February, the RSF and other allied rebel leaders agreed in Kenya to form a government for a “New Sudan”, aiming to challenge the army-led administration’s legitimacy and secure advanced arms imports.
US Sanctions
Dagalo, a former militia leader and one of Sudan’s wealthiest people, was hit with sanctions by the US, which accused him of genocide earlier this year.
He had previously shared power with Burhan after veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir’s ouster in 2019. However, a 2021 coup by the two forces ousted civilian politicians, sparking a war over troop integration during a planned transition to democracy.
Burhan was sanctioned in January by the US which accused him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.
The ongoing conflict has devastated Sudan, creating an “unprecedented” humanitarian crisis in the country, with half the population facing spreading hunger and famine, according to the United Nations.
(With inputs from Reuters)
