The move comes just weeks after the chief of Sudan’s state army announced plans to establish a “wartime” administration
The Sudanese paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is involved in a brutal and ongoing civil war with the national army, has signed a charter with allied political and armed groups to establish a “government of peace and unity.”
The army-aligned Sudanese foreign affairs ministry has accused the Kenyan government of hosting the “event of signing a so-called political agreement between the terrorist Janjaweed militia—responsible for ongoing acts of genocide in Sudan—and its affiliated individuals and groups.”
“This move promotes the dismembering of African states, violates their sovereignty, and interferes in their internal affairs,” the ministry has stated.
Al-Hadi Idris, a former official, head of a paramilitary group, and a signatory to the treaty, told Reuters over the weekend that the formation of the government would be announced in the coming days.
The signing took place in a closed meeting, in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital last week and was backed by the Kenyan government. The parties, among them Abdelaziz al-Hilu, who is said to be a powerful rebel leader with control over vast swathes of territory and troops in the South Kordofan state, reportedly agreed that Sudan should be a “secular, democratic, non-centralized state” with a single national army.
The move comes two weeks after Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the de facto leader of the northeastern African nation, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, announced his intention to form a “caretaker” or “wartime” government. Burhan has said the country’s interim constitution will be amended, and a prime minister will be appointed to manage the state’s executive without interference.
Sudan descended into chaos in mid-April 2023, following months of tension between Burhan and RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over the integration of their forces as part of a planned transition to civilian rule.
Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the rivals had ruled Sudan together after jointly leading a military coup to oust long-ruling former President Omar al-Bashir in 2019. In October 2021, they overthrew the civilian-led transitional authority, with whom they had been sharing power since Bashir’s ouster.
The conflict has triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis, with half the Sudanese population facing acute food insecurity, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) reported last week. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the nearly three-year war.
In a statement on Sunday, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi hailed the move as a “step toward restoring peace, stability, and democratic governance in Sudan.” He said Nairobi remains committed to supporting Sudanese-led solutions to the fighting.
Army chief Burhan has previously rejected Kenyan President William Ruto as chairman of a regional committee mediating peace talks during the early stages of the conflict, claiming that Nairobi has sided with the paramilitary Rapid Support Force.
