Major Sudanese political parties on Monday condemned the formation of a parallel government by allies of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), warning that the move threatens to partition the war-torn country.

The condemnation followed a Saturday announcement by the “Tasies” foundational coalition of a new administration based in RSF-controlled territories. The body named the RSF commander to head a 15-member presidential council and appointed Mohamed Hassan al-Taishi as prime minister.

“We reject any government, whether it’s a civilian cover for the RSF militia or the army’s government…in Port Sudan,” Kamal Karrar, a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, told Sudan Tribune.

Karrar said the RSF was seeking a “political cover” to strengthen its hand in any future negotiations, timing the announcement just before a planned meeting in Washington to discuss the conflict. The United States is set to host talks with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to explore solutions to the war.

Political figures from across the spectrum warned the move would deepen existing schisms.

“The instigators of the war have deliberately deepened these threats,” Sharif Mohamed Osman, political secretary of the Sudanese Congress Party, told Sudan Tribune. He said the country was witnessing a “race for counter-legitimacy, fueled by internal and external agendas that…push the country towards it systematically.”

Adel Khalafallah, a spokesman for the Arab Ba’ath Socialist Party, described the move as a “political counter-escalation” designed to prolong the war. He told Sudan Tribune that legitimacy would not be granted to “either government,” accusing both sides of undermining the country’s democratic transition.

Babiker Faisal, head of the Unionist Gathering’s executive office, warned in a Facebook post that the country was facing an “existential threat.”

“With the Tasies coalition’s announcement…the country now has two governments for the first time in its modern history,” Faisal wrote, adding that in his view, Sudan has lacked a legitimate government since the October 2021 coup.

Nizar Youssef, a spokesman for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – Democratic Revolutionary Current, which is part of Somoud coalition, stated that having two governments poses a threat to Sudan’s unity and sovereignty.

“We appeal to the regional and international communities not to recognize the de facto authorities, meaning, the two war governments,” Youssef said, calling for a focus on an unconditional ceasefire.