Sudanese paramilitary RSF appoints rival prime minister amid ongoing conflict

Sunday 27 July 2025 - 11:30

The Sudanese paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has appointed a prime minister for its self-declared government, nearly five months after announcing plans to form a rival administration in the areas under its control.

Mohammad Hassan al-Ta’ayshi, a former member of Sudan’s transitional Sovereign Council (2019–2021), has been named head of the “Government of Peace and Unity,” RSF spokesperson Alaa El-Din Naqqad stated on Saturday.

This announcement comes more than two years into the brutal war that has divided Sudan. The army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, controls the north, east, and center—including the capital Khartoum. Meanwhile, the RSF, under the command of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, holds most of Darfur in the west and parts of Kordofan in the south.

The internationally recognized army-aligned government, formed in May and headed by former UN official Kamil Idris, remains incomplete, with three ministerial posts still vacant. In contrast, the RSF-led coalition has unveiled a 15-member presidential council, headed by Dagalo and including rebel leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu as vice president.

The RSF's move follows a political charter signed in February in Nairobi with allied armed and civilian groups. Tensions between Dagalo and Burhan—once allies who overthrew Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and staged a coup in 2021—have fueled the current conflict.