A coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF [19]) has announced [20] formation of a parallel government in Sudan, further cementing the country's territorial split between army-held and RSF-held regions. Paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemedti [21]") will head a 15-person council with Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, head of the SPLM-N [22] rebel group, as deputy. The African Union urged member states [23] to not recognize the new administration. The RSF-led government wants to rival the Port Sudan-based army-led transitional government, which installed a prime minister in May, former UN official Kamil Idris.
The RSF has been accused of genocide and crimes against humanity since it began fighting the army in 2023. Establishing a government is seen as [25] a strategic move to gain legitimacy, rebrand the group's image, acquire more advanced weaponry, and strengthen its position in the event of peace negotiations. The announcement was made just ahead of expected talks in Washington with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE—all backing different sides in the war—but those talks have now been postponed, faltering like so many previous mediation efforts.
From The New Humanitarian [26], Aug. 1. Internal links added.
Note: The RSF-led regime is based at Nyala [27], capital of South Darfur state, while the army-led government has taken refuge at Port Sudan [28] on the Red Sea coast, with the official capital Khartoum [29] only recently retaken from the RSF. The RSF controls much of Darfur region in the southwest, while the SPLM-N controls territory in Kordofan and Blue Nile regions in the southeast. This effectively leaves the RSF-led regime in control of much of the south, the army in control of the north, and the center of the country contested.
