# RSF declares rival Sudan government as war deepens and humanitarian crisis worsens
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces declared the formation of a rival government to the country’s armed forces on the event date, a move that underscores how far the war has moved beyond battlefield competition into parallel claims of political authority. The announcement came as fighting continued and international officials again warned that Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe is deepening.
The BBC report in the evidence packet says the RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, described the group as “building the only realistic future for Sudan.” It also says he framed the proposed administration as a “state of law” rather than one ruled by individuals, and said it would provide education and healthcare in areas under RSF control and beyond. Those statements are important because they show the RSF presenting itself not simply as an armed faction, but as an alternative governing structure.
The article should place that declaration in the context of a war that has already devastated the country. BBC says Sudan is experiencing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and that more than 150,000 people have been killed, with more than 12 million displaced, since the conflict began in April 2023. Those figures are central to the story because they explain why the rival-government announcement is not just a political gesture but part of a broader struggle over who can claim legitimacy while civilians endure mass displacement and hunger.
The same report says the announcement came as London hosted a high-level conference marking the second anniversary of the conflict, where UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for a pathway to peace and the UK promised additional aid. The report also says fighting continued near el-Fasher, with the army bombing RSF positions outside the city and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the Zamzam refugee camp. That detail reinforces that the declaration did not coincide with de-escalation on the ground.
The packet gives further evidence of the humanitarian scale: it says humanitarian agencies have reported famine-like conditions for more than 700,000 people in temporary camps around el-Fasher, with security threats and roadblocks obstructing aid delivery. Those are high-risk claims, but they are presented by BBC and tied to humanitarian organizations, so they can be included with attribution. They help explain why a rival government declaration may matter far beyond factional politics.
The article should avoid overreaching into legal conclusions about recognition, partition, or constitutional validity. The African Union’s position, as reported, is that it will not allow the country to be partitioned by the army and the RSF. That is the appropriate level of detail: competing claims of authority, a worsening war, and an immense civilian toll. The verified news is that the RSF is trying to formalize its own political structure even as Sudan’s conflict continues to devastate the country.
