Sudan's RSF and allies agree to form a government in areas held by the paramilitary

Spokesman for UN chief Guterres says move will increase Sudan's fragmentation

Delegates affiliated to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces at a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 18 for the planned signing, later delayed, of a charter for a 'Government of Peace and Unity'. Reuters

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and its allies agreed on Sunday to form a parallel government in areas controlled by the paramilitary. The agreement signed said the charter will lead to the establishment of a "government of peace and unity" in rebel-controlled areas, a widely expected move that had led to fears that it could further fragment the war-devastated country.

The RSF's adversary, the national army led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, backs a caretaking administration based in the city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Gen Al Burhan, also the nation's de facto president, recently spoke of setting up a government of technocrats to run the country's day-to-day affairs until the conflict ends. No concrete steps have since been taken to form such a government.

The charter laying the foundation of the proposed government was signed behind closed doors in Nairobi amid tight security measure. It calls for a "secular, democratic, decentralised state based on freedom, equality, and justice, without bias towards any cultural, ethnic, religious or regional identity". It says it aspires to a "new, unified, professional, national army" with a military doctrine reflecting Sudan's "diversity and plurality".

The phrasing appeared designed to appeal to the millions of Sudanese in what is commonly known in the country as the "fringe", a reference to residents of the far-flung regions of Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile who have long complained of discrimination by a northern Sudan's political elite.

The three regions have for years seen anti-government rebellions, some of which continue to this day.

No date was given for the establishment of the government which, according to the charter, will aim to end the war and enable the arrival and distribution of humanitarian assistance.

Sudan's Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, right, and commander of the Rapid Support Forces Gen Mohamed Dagalo. AFP

A spokesman for UN chief António Guterres warned that Sunday's move by the RSF and its allies could "increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse".

Hosting the signing ceremony in Nairobi has strained relations between the Kenyan government and Gen Al Burhan's administration.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry on Friday said it was recalling its ambassador in Nairobi, which said hosting the ceremony was a continuation of its decades-old role as a mediator in Sudan's domestic conflicts. Sudan responded by calling Nairobi's action "hostile and irresponsible".

Prominent among the charter's signatories was a faction of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz Al Hilu, which controls parts of the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in the country's south. Abdel Rahim Dagalo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo, also signed.

News of a government to be set up in RSF controlled areas – parts of the capital's greater region, most of the western Darfur region and parts of Kordofan to the south-west – came as the paramilitary's war against the army nears its second year anniversary on April 15.

The war has killed tens of thousands, forced more than 12 million people to flee their homes and left about 26 million – more than half the population – facing acute hunger, with pockets of famine already surfacing in parts of the vast country in north-east Africa.

Black smoke above the Sudanese capital Khartoum days after the war between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out on April 15, 2023. AFP

Both the army and the RSF, whose forerunner is the notorious Darfur Janjaweed militia, have been accused by foreign governments and international rights groups of committing war crimes.

The US has singled out the RSF for charges of genocide in Darfur. Gen Dagalo and Gen Al Burhan have also had sanctions imposed by the US for their part in the war.

The Sudan war is essentially a power struggle between the one-time allied generals who jointly led a coup in 2021 that toppled a civilian-led transitional government two years after the removal of dictator Omar Al Bashir amid a popular uprising against his 29-year rule.

Sunday's agreement also comes after battlefield gains by the army in the capital and central Sudan, with troops and their allies now on the verge of throwing the paramilitary completely out of the capital's three Nile-side cities – Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri.

However, the RSF's alliance with the SPLM-N gives it access to more territory in Kordofan and expands the international borders within reach to include the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ethiopia, in addition to Libya and Chad.

Alaa El-Din Nuqd, a signatory representing professional unions, said the proposed government would benefit people in RSF-held areas "who have been cut off from essential services". The charter, he said, was a step towards "protecting the dignity" of war-hit civilians.

Additional reporting by AFP