RSF and allies form parallel gov’t under Hemedti to challenge army rule

NYALA – Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies on Saturday named their leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, widely known as Hemedti, as president of a newly formed parallel government, escalating the political divide in the country amid a protracted civil war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

The new governing body, announced in the RSF-held city of Nyala in South Darfur, is part of what the group calls the “Transitional Peace Government.”

The coalition behind the move, known as the Sudan Founding Alliance, also appointed former Sovereignty Council member Mohamed Hassan al-Ta’aishi as prime minister and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North leader Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu as vice president.

The announcement comes as the RSF faces mounting military pressure following recent SAF advances in central Sudan and intensified aerial bombardments in Darfur and Kordofan.

Establishing a rival political structure appears to be a strategic attempt by the RSF to assert national authority and counterbalance the SAF-led Transitional Sovereignty Council based in Port Sudan.

Although the alliance did not announce a formal capital, the choice of Nyala for the declaration signals the city’s emerging role as a de facto administrative center. However, Nyala remains under threat from SAF drone and air strikes, raising questions about the operational viability of the new government.

The newly formed presidential council comprises 15 members, including both political and regional figures allied with the RSF. In addition to Hemedti and al-Hilu, members include Al-Tahir Abu Bakr Hajar, Mohamed Youssef Ahmed al-Mustafa, Hamid Hamdeen Nuweiri, Abdullah Ibrahim Abbas, and Kholdi Fathi Salem.

Other members of the council were also named as regional governors. Hadi Idris Yahya was appointed governor of Darfur, Jagod Mekwar Murada as governor of the Nuba Mountains region, Joseph Tukka Ali as governor of the Funj region, Saleh Isa Abdullah as governor of Central Sudan, Mabrouk Mubarak Salem as governor of Eastern Sudan, Abul Qasim al-Rashid Ahmed as governor of Northern Sudan, Faris al-Noor Ibrahim as governor of Khartoum, and Hamad Mohamed Hamid as governor of Kordofan.

Several of the appointees are former rebel leaders or connected to regional or tribal power bases aligned with the RSF. Saleh Isa, named governor for central Sudan, is reportedly related to senior RSF commander Abdelrahman al-Bishi, who was killed in a SAF airstrike in Sennar earlier this year.

The RSF’s political move comes at a time when its military strength has weakened, particularly after SAF offensives in central Sudan’s Al Jazirah and Khartoum states, pushing the group to defensive postures in Kordofan and Darfur.

The formation of the alternative government is seen as a symbolic assertion of statehood in regions where the RSF retains influence, and as a pre-emptive step amid growing calls among exiled civilian politicians to form a rival administration abroad.

While the inclusion of prominent figures such as al-Ta’aishi and al-Hilu lends some political credibility, analysts say the council remains heavily militarized and lacks democratic legitimacy. Its authority is grounded in territorial control, and its ability to function effectively is limited by SAF air superiority and fragile infrastructure in the western and southern regions.

The development raises fears of a de facto partition of Sudan, with the SAF consolidating control in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan and the RSF entrenching itself in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile — historically marginalized regions now emerging as rival power centers.

There was no immediate comment from the SAF or the transitional government in Port Sudan.

Darfur Governor Minni Minnawi, a former rebel leader and head of a Sudan Liberation Army faction, criticized the announcement in a Facebook statement, accusing the RSF of using the move to deflect attention from its role in wartime atrocities.