Sudan Civil War Takes Dark Turn as RSF Launches 'Parallel Government'

In a dramatic move last week, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced the selection of its own prime minister and presidential council to compete with and directly challenge the legitimacy of the Sudanese government.

News of the new parallel government comes days before a new round of peace talks was expected to begin in Washington last week. Although neither of the two civil war belligerents were going to attend, it was to be the latest effort by the United States to broker an end to the war in Sudan — and the first major effort under Trump’s presidency.

But the United States, which was planning to host the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), called off the talks scheduled for July 30 just before they were to begin because of disagreement with the Egyptians over the wording of a communique that was expected to be released as part of the summit.

The Egyptians, which have been closely aligned with the military-backed Sudanese government over the course of the civil war, opposed a portion of the document that declared that neither the current Sudanese government nor the paramilitary RSF could play a leading role in the new post-war transitional government. Egypt’s support for the Sudanese government places it in direct opposition to the UAE, which has provided military support to the RSF.