The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of Sudan signed a charter Saturday with allied political and armed groups to form a “government of peace and unity.” The signing took place during an event held at the Kenya International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Among the those who were signatories to the charter were the RSF commander Abdelrahim Dagalo and other political and paramilitary leaders.

The document, known as the New Founding Sudan Charter, declares a new government that intends to run parallel to Sudan’s existing government. This parallel government is to establish a secular civilian democracy in Sudan and bring an end to the war that has crippled Sudan since 2023.

While the signatories express the charter’s intention to restore peace, it is feared that the charter may cause further division in Sudan and perpetuity of the civil wars. Local news sources report that the UN, through Stephane Dujjaric, the spokesman of the Secretary-General, stated that the charter would cause further fragmentation of Sudan and more crisis than is being experienced at the moment. The spokesman reiterated that the UN supports the sovereignty of Sudan and its territorial integrity as ways of preserving its unity and bringing the hostilities of the civil wars to an end.

The establishment of this parallel government has also been condemned by Ali Youssef, Sudan’s minister for foreign affairs. He specifically stated that no person would recognize a government that runs parallel to the Sudanese government.

The RSF, in multiple instances, has been reported to carry out hostilities against civilians since the civil wars in Sudan began in 2023, the latest case being an attack on the villages of the White Nile region which cost Sudan the lives of approximately 200 civilians.