Sudan's RSF, allies sign charter for rival government: sources

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces agree to form a parallel government, risking further division in the war-torn country.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies have agreed to set up a parallel government, sources said Sunday (February 23, 2025), despite warnings such a move could further fragment the war-ravaged country.

“It’s done,” a source close to the organisers of the signing ceremony in Nairobi told AFP.

The signatories said the charter paves the way for a “government of peace and unity” in rebel-controlled areas of the northeast African country.

The move comes nearly two years into a devastating war with the regular army that has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises.

The signing, delayed multiple times, took place behind closed doors in the Kenyan capital.

Among those who agreed to it was a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which controls parts of the southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

Abdel Rahim Daglo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo – who was notably absent – also signed.