Sudan closer to partition? Paramilitary RSF announces parallel government, army vows continued fight

A coalition led by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has declared a parallel government, a move strongly opposed by the national army and one that risks deepening the country’s divide amid a civil war now in its second year.

The parallel administration led by RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti was announced from western Sudan.

Back in March, the RSF and its allied factions adopted a transitional constitution that proposes a federal, secular governance model split into eight regions.

Currently, the RSF maintains control over large parts of western Sudan, including the Darfur region and other territories. However, it is being driven out of central areas by the military, which has recently regained ground in Khartoum, the capital.

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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.

Dagalo, a former militia leader and one of Sudan’s wealthiest people, known as Hemedti, was hit with sanctions by the U.S, which accused him of genocide earlier this year.

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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 U.S. 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 agencies