July 26 (Reuters) – A Sudanese coalition led by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Saturday a parallel government, a move fiercely opposed by the army that could drive the country further towards partition as a two-year-old civil war rages.

The government led by RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country.

The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions.

The RSF controls much of the west of the country such as the vast Darfur region and some other areas but is being pushed back from central Sudan by the army, which has recently regained control over the capital Khartoum.

In February, the RSF and other allied leaders agreed in Kenya to form a government for a “New Sudan,” aiming to challenge the army-led administration’s legitimacy and secure advanced arms imports.

He had previously shared power with Burhan after veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir’s ouster in 2019. However, a 2021 coup by the two forces ousted civilian politicians, sparking a war over troop integration during a planned transition to democracy.

Burhan was sanctioned in January by the U.S. which accused him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.

The ongoing conflict has devastated Sudan, creating an “unprecedented” humanitarian crisis in the country, with half the population facing spreading hunger and famine, according to the United Nations.