A PARAMILITARY group fighting Sudan’s military has announced the formation of a rival government, which will rule the western Darfur region and other parts of the country that the rebels control.

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke the news in a speech on Tuesday as the north-eastern African nation marked two years of civil war.

“On this anniversary, we proudly declare the establishment of the Government of Peace and Unity,” Gen Dagalo said.

He added that other groups have joined the RSF-led administration, including a faction of Sudan’s Liberation Movement, which controls parts of Kordofan region.

Gen Dagalo, who has been hit by US sanctions in response to accusations that his forces have committed genocide in Darfur, said that he and his allies were also establishing “a 15-member presidential council” representing all of Sudan’s regions.

The move follows the loss by the RSF of the capital Khartoum and other cities in recent months. The paramilitary group has since regrouped in the sprawling region of Darfur, which is its stronghold.

It raises concerns that Sudan is heading towards partition or a prolonged conflict like that in neighbouring Libya, where two rival administrations have been fighting for power for over a decade. 

Sudan was plunged into chaos on April 15 2023 when tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country.

Since then, at least 24,000 people have been killed, though the true number is probably far higher. The war has also driven about 13 million people from their homes, including four million who have crossed into neighbouring countries, and pushed parts of Sudan into famine.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities, including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings, that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.