The African Union has rejected a move by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to form a rival government, calling it a threat to peace and national unity.
The RSF announced the creation of a 15-member “government of peace and unity” on Saturday, naming Mohamed Hassan al-Ta'ayshi as prime minister and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as head of a new presidential council.
The announcement was made at a press conference in Nyala, in the Darfur region. Hemedti’s deputy will be the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, one of Sudan’s largest rebel groups.
In a statement on Wednesday, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council urged member states and the international community “not [to] recognise the so-called ‘parallel government’ which has serious consequences on the peace efforts and the existential future of the country”.
The council said the move risked the “fragmentation of Sudan” and called on all sides to “cease hostilities immediately and unconditionally”. It reaffirmed support for the transitional government formed in May in Port Sudan, led by former UN official Kamil Idris.
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Risk of 'warring cantons'
The Arab League said the RSF’s declaration was “an attempt to impose a de facto reality by military force” that could divide Sudan into “warring cantons”.
The Saudi foreign ministry said Sudanese parties should “avoid the risks of division and chaos”.
The African Union said it “unequivocally condemned all forms of external interference, which is fuelling the Sudanese conflict”. The UN has issued repeated warnings on the same point.
The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF in violation of a UN arms embargo in Darfur. Abu Dhabi denies this, despite multiple reports from UN experts, diplomats and international organisations.
Sudan’s army-aligned government has also criticised Kenya for allowing a series of meetings between RSF leaders and allied groups in Nairobi earlier this year.
The talks took place at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre and were attended by Hemedti’s brother and deputy, Abdul Rahim Dagalo. Sudanese authorities say the Nairobi meetings helped pave the way for the formation of the rival government. Kenya denies this.
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Power struggle
The RSF has been at war with Sudan’s army since April 2023. The army now controls Khartoum and much of the country’s north, east and centre, while the RSF holds most of Darfur and parts of Kordofan, where recent attacks have killed hundreds, according to local rights groups.
The conflict began with a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Dagalo. The two were once allies, working together to remove longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019. They later led a 2021 coup that ended Sudan’s transition to civilian rule.
The war has since killed tens of thousands and triggered the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis, the UN said.
The AU said it continues to back peace efforts, including the 2023 Jeddah Declaration and UN Security Council calls for the RSF to lift its siege of El Fasher and allow aid deliveries.
(with newswires)
