A Sudanese coalition backed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces announced plans to establish a rival government, challenging the military-led authorities in Khartoum as the country’s civil war enters its third year.
The group, calling itself the Leadership Council of the Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS), said RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, will head a 15-member presidential council.
The proposed government also includes regional governors, with Sudanese politician Mohammed Hassan Osman al-Ta’ishi named as prime minister.
In a statement on Saturday, the coalition hailed the move as a “historic achievement” and pledged to build a “secular, democratic and decentralized” Sudan based on “freedom, justice and equality.”
The announcement risks deepening Sudan’s political divisions, potentially creating rival institutions as fighting continues between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces. In May, the army claimed it had expelled the RSF from the capital, Khartoum.
The conflict, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 13 million people, according to U.N. estimates, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.