Sudan’s paramilitary personnel announced that hostile governments would be formed into the country’s armed forces, a war that has become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Force (RSF), said the group “has built the only realistic future for Sudan.”
The news comes as a senior meeting in London commemorates the second anniversary of the conflict, with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling for a “road to peace.”
The battle broke out and the army said it bombed RSF posts outside the city of El-Fasher, forcing thousands of people to flee the Zamzam refugee camp.
A Sudanese woman cooks in a camp at a displaced person in the port of Sudan on Tuesday [Getty Images]
Hemedti said the RSF is establishing a “legal state” rather than a country ruled by individuals.
“We do not seek rule, but unity. We believe there is no monopoly of the identity of the tribe, region or religion over the Sudan,” he wrote in a statement on the telegram.
He added that his government will provide basic services such as education and health care, not only regions controlled by the RSF, but also the entire country.
The UN said on the grounds that more than 400 people were killed in the recent RSF attacks in the grounds of a “reliable source”.
Two years after the war, both the Army and the RSF were charged with war crimes, including genocide and mass sexual violence.
Since April 15, 2023, Hemedti has been trapped in a power struggle with General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Army, and has created a humanitarian crisis that claimed more than 150,000 lives and displaced 12 million people.
According to the medical charity MEDF, the latest battle in the capital of North Darfur has forced thousands of civilians to walk 70 km (43 miles) from the Zamzam refugee camp to the town of Tavira.
Many people are severely dehydrated and some children are reported to die of thirst.
Humanitarian agencies reported that in temporary camps near El-Fasher, more than 700,000 people faced famine conditions, security threats and obstacles that block critical assistance.
At an international conference on Tuesday, the UK promised an additional £120 million ($159 million) in food and medical assistance, urging the world not to reject Sudan.
“Many people gave up on Sudan – it’s wrong – when we see so many civilians beheaded, young babies like people suffering from sexual violence, more people facing famine than anywhere else in the world… we can’t just look away, which is morally wrong.”
The meeting also called for an immediate ceasefire, but the African Union said it would not allow the country to be divided by the Army and RSF.
