Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies have publicly signed a political charter to obtain a parallel government in defiance of warnings that the action could deepen the conflict in the war-torn nation.
Sources said that the signing which happened behind close doors in Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday laid-out the ground-work for a “Government of Peace and Unity” in RSF held areas. The charter – signed by a handful of armed factions – advocates a secular, decentralized government and the integration of combatants into one national army.
This announcement comes as the conflict in Sudan enters nearly two years, displacing over 12 million people and creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. RSF deputy leader Abdel Rahim Daglo, as well as RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, whose absence was noted, also signed the document. 
The move has sharpened divisions within Sudan’s biggest civilian coalition, Taqadum, and split it in two. At the same time, Sudan’s military backed government has denounced Kenya’s participation in the negotiations, withdrawing its ambassador from Nairobi in protest.
U.N. officials and the Arab League have expressed concern that this parallel administration could exacerbate the Sudancrisis, with the army, commanded General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, saying it will strike back. As the situation worsens, the newly proposed administration could be established in under a month, potentially spelling even greater fragmentation of the country.
