Hemedti sworn in as RSF leader, sets up rival government in Sudan

Sudan’s conflict has taken a new turn after Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, was sworn in as head of a parallel government backed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The move risks cementing a de facto partition of the country, already torn apart by nearly two and a half years of war.

In a statement, the RSF said the swearing-in ceremony was held in Nyala, Darfur’s largest city, which has functioned as the paramilitary group’s base of operations.

The RSF has set up a presidential council led by Hemedti and appointed a prime minister, marking a push to formalize its administration. Hemedti has rarely been seen in Sudan since the war began, and Reuters could not independently verify his location.

Nyala itself remains under siege. Drone strikes hit the city over the weekend, highlighting the fragile grip the RSF maintains even in areas it controls. In Darfur’s historic capital of al-Fashir, the humanitarian situation is even worse.

The RSF has encircled the city for more than 500 days, trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians who have been forced to survive on animal feed as food stocks vanish.

The United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, reported this week that over 1,000 children have been killed or maimed in air raids, artillery bombardments, and ground assaults since the conflict escalated.

The RSF maintains that civilians have had opportunities to leave, but satellite images released by Yale’s Humanitarian Lab suggest otherwise, showing barriers erected by the fighters to block people from escaping. Survivors who managed to flee have described being robbed and assaulted by RSF soldiers.

On the other side, the Sudanese national army has been reasserting control in the country’s central and eastern regions. Earlier this week, it convened the first cabinet meeting of its own government, signaling that Sudan is now operating under two rival administrations.

The contested Kordofan region, lying between RSF and army-controlled zones, remains a frontline of brutal battles and frequent attacks on small villages.

The war, which erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti spiraled into open conflict, has devastated Sudan.

Nearly half of the population around 25 million people are facing severe hunger. The economy has collapsed, health systems have been destroyed, and international agencies now describe the crisis as the worst humanitarian disaster in the world today.

The Trump administration has promised to help broker peace, but mediation efforts have so far stalled. Analysts say entrenched interests, regional rivalries, and the RSF’s deep entrenchment in Darfur make a quick resolution unlikely.

With rival governments now entrenched on opposite sides of the country, Sudan risks sliding further into permanent division — a scenario that could prolong the suffering of millions already trapped in one of the world’s most dire wars.