Latest news with #parallelgovernment
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Paramilitary-led group forms rival government in war-torn Sudan
A Sudanese political coalition aligned with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has announced the formation of a parallel government in a country gripped by a brutal civil war for more than two years. The Leadership Council of the Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS) announced the move on Saturday, naming RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as chairman of a 15-member presidential council that includes regional governors. Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu, a powerful rebel leader said to control vast swathes of territory and troops in South Kordofan state, will serve as vice chairman, while Sudanese politician Mohamed Hassan Othman al-Ta'ayshi will take the role of prime minister. 'On the occasion of this historic achievement, the leadership council extends its greetings and congratulations to the Sudanese people who have endured the flames of devastating wars for decades,' TASIS said in a statement. The formation of the rival government, according to TASIS, renews its 'commitment to building an inclusive homeland and a new secular, democratic, decentralized, and voluntarily unified Sudan, founded on the principles of freedom, justice, and equality.' Gen. Dagalo had ruled Sudan alongside Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) commander and de facto leader of the northeastern African nation, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, after leading the 2019 coup that overthrew long-ruling former President Omar al-Bashir. However, fighting erupted between the two in April 2023, following months of tension over the integration of their forces as part of a planned transition to civilian rule. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, but regional and international efforts to broker a ceasefire between the warring parties have so far failed. In February, the RSF signed a charter with allied political and armed groups to establish a 'government of peace and unity,' weeks after army chief Burhan announced plans to form a 'caretaker' or 'wartime' government. In a statement on Sunday, the Sudanese army condemned the 'so-called militia government' as a ploy by the RSF to deceive its allies, claiming its true intention is to seize power in pursuit of personal ambition.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Leaders of Parallel Government Named in War-Torn Sudan
A coalition led by the paramilitary group fighting for power in Sudan's brutal civil war has announced the leadership for its self-declared parallel government, further tearing the fabric of an politically fraying nation. As fighting in central and south Sudan intensifies, the Sudan Founding Alliance said Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, would head a 15-person government council that would include regional governors. A statement issued on Saturday named a Sudanese politician, Mohamed Hassan Othman al-Ta'ayshi, as prime minister. The coalition said the formation of the council renewed its 'commitment to building an inclusive homeland and a new, secular, democratic, decentralized, and voluntarily unified Sudan founded on the principles of freedom, justice, and equality.' When pressed, the spokesman for the coalition, Alaa Eldin Awad Naqd, said, 'We have six-month emergency plans in every service sector, and there are strategic plans in all sectors in the country.' He would not elaborate. The next step for the parallel government, he said, will be the formation of a ministerial council. Democracy activists in Sudan have long denounced the military's stranglehold on power, but the coalition's lofty language notwithstanding, fighters for the Rapid Support Forces, known as the R.S.F., have been accused of atrocities. Rights groups, the United Nations and the United States have accused both sides of war crimes, but only the R.S.F. has been implicated in genocide. A 2023 outbreak of violence against the Masalit ethnic group by the R.S.F., whose fighters are predominantly ethnic Arabs, led to allegations of ethnic cleansing. Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday condemned the coalition's announcement and called on other governments to avoid interacting with 'this illegitimate entity declared by the terrorist militia.' Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, said the coalition's announcement would only deepen Sudan's division. 'R.S.F. appears to think this move will increase its own legitimacy and leverage,' he said. 'More likely, it will only make the war even harder to end and Sudan even harder to piece back together.' The war grew out of a feud between opposing generals in April 2023 and has since killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and plunged much of the country into famine. Though Sudanese forces drove the R.S.F. out of Khartoum in March, the paramilitary-led coalition has declared its own government in the areas it still holds. Most of that territory is in the Kordofan and Darfur regions, with the exception of the embattled city of El Fasher, which is held by Sudan's Army. American officials have warned of ethnic slaughter if the R.S.F. is able to take over the city. Abdalrahman Altayeb contributed reporting.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudanese Coalition Led by Paramilitary RSF Announces Parallel Government
A Sudanese coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Saturday a parallel government, a move fiercely opposed by the army that could drive the country further towards partition as a two-year-old civil war rages. The government led by RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country. The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions, Reuters said. The RSF controls much of the west of the country such as the vast Darfur region and some other areas but is being pushed back from central Sudan by the army, which has recently regained control over the capital Khartoum. 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 US, which accused him of genocide earlier this year. 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 US 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.
LBCI
3 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Sudanese coalition led by paramilitary RSF announces parallel government
A Sudanese coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Saturday a parallel government, a move fiercely opposed by the army that could drive the country further towards partition as a two-year-old civil war rages. The government led by RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country. The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions. Reuters
Reuters
4 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Sudanese coalition led by paramilitary RSF announces parallel government
July 26 (Reuters) - A Sudanese coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Saturday a parallel government, a move fiercely opposed by the army that could drive the country further towards partition as a two-year-old civil war rages. The government led by RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country. The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions. The RSF controls much of the west of the country such as the vast Darfur region and some other areas but is being pushed back from central Sudan by the army, which has recently regained control over the capital Khartoum. 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. 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.
