Amid Regional Diplomatic Furor, Sudans Paramilitaries Forge a Rival Government

The Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting Sudan’s military in the country’s calamitous civil war, signed a political charter with its allies late Saturday that aimed to establish a parallel Sudanese government in areas under their control.The paramilitaries said the agreement, which was signed in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, would pave the way for peace after nearly two years of a war that has killed thousands of people and set off a devastating famine.Critics called it an audacious gambit by a group that the United States has accused of genocide, and warned that the charter could further splinter Sudan.The charter’s signatories included the deputy leader of the S.P.L.M.-N., a secular-minded rebel group that stayed out of the war until last week.

Now it is firmly aligned with the Rapid Support Forces, more often referred to as the R.S.F.The most immediate effect, though, was diplomatic.Triumphant appearances by R.S.F.

leaders — many of them accused of war crimes and under American sanctions — in Kenya’s capital this past week set off a bitter public row between the two countries.Sudan’s military-led government accused Kenya of “disgraceful” behavior that it said was “tantamount to an act of hostility” and withdrew its ambassador from Nairobi in protest.Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said it sought only to provide “a platform for key stakeholders” from Sudan, and to halt “the tragic slide of Sudan into anarchy.” Still, many in Kenya condemned the talks as a political blunder by President William Ruto, and called on him to reverse course.The Kenyan chapter of the International Commission of Jurists said Mr.

Ruto was “complicit in mass atrocities against the Sudanese people.” One Kenyan newspaper denounced the R.S.F.’s leader, Lt.Gen.

Mohamed Hamdan, as “The Butcher” on its front page.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience ...