A parallel “transitional peace” government to Sudan’s port-based government was unveiled by the Tasis Alliance, a coalition of Sudanese armed groups formed in February.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a powerful armed group that controls large portions of South Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, collaborated to create Tasis.
For 40 years, SPLM-N has been fighting a rebellion against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), a conflict rooted in brutal land grabs by ruling elites.
Although the RSF and SAF were former allies, a power conflict led to a total civil war in April 2023.
After more than two years of fighting, Tasis wants to challenge SAF for legitimacy and power, according to analysts.
Anette Hoffmann, a researcher on Sudan at the Dutch Clingendale Institute, described the Tasis government as “the RSF’s most recent desperate attempt to rebrand itself as a state authority rather than a militia.
“But every single one of their actions has shown otherwise.” RSF forces and their allies were besieging entire state capitals and starving innocent civilians, she told Al Jazeera as they announced their government.
Tasis wants to be a state representative.
Just three days before a new round of peace talks in the United States is scheduled to start on July 29th, Tasis officially announced its new government.
Representatives from the Sudan Quartet, including those from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, will attend the discussions. According to Africa Intelligence, neither the SAF nor the RSF will be included in this round.
Despite the RSF’s long-standing reservations about being excluded from the power and influence in a post-war Sudan due to a lack of international legitimacy, the organization has long been wary of being treated as merely an “armed group” in ceasefire negotiations.
The Tasis Alliance hopes to win support from some friendly states and strengthen its bargaining position in upcoming negotiations, according to Kholood Khair, the founder of the Confluence Advisory think-tank and an expert on Sudan.
Khair told Al Jazeera, “What’s interesting is that these new talks have sparked a fury across Sudan and sparked the formation of these two governments,” despite how little information has been made about them.
She continued, adding that the army used a similar tactic to appoint Kamel Idris as prime minister in Port Sudan, a crucial city on the Red Sea Coast, in May.
Just one day after Tasis announced its parallel administration, Idris recently appointed five new ministers to bolster his new administration.
Recycled blueprints
The RSF-backed government is led by a council of military saviors and civilian loyalists, just like Port Sudan.
The presidency of the Tasis has 15 members, led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, the RSF’s leader. Abdelaziz al-Hilu, the leader of SPLM-N, is his deputy.
RSF-aligned armed commanders and civil servants reportedly received 47% of the new administration’s posts, compared to SPLM-N, which received roughly a third.
As previously reported by Al Jazeera, smaller armed groups and political parties who advantageously joined Tasis to increase their relevance received the rest.  ,
Suleiman Sandal, a rebel group that emerged from the Darfur wars and splitted in the current war, was appointed interior minister.
Al-Tahir Hajar is a well-known member of the Tasis leadership council, along with the Sudan Liberation Forces Gathering (SLFG), which emerged from the Darfur wars.
Mohamed Hassan al-Ta’aishi, a politician from Darfur and former head of Sudan’s transitional Sovereign Council, is the Tasis government’s prime minister. He is a member of the country’s ruling coalition.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti, the SAF’s head of the Sovereign Council. The two planned to retake control of the 2021 presidential election, but they plotted a coup to overthrow the then-civil government and stifle hopes for democracy.
Cementing the rift 
The former has ruled the east and center of the nation since the SAF took control of Khartoum from the RSF in March, while the latter has made an effort to retake control of the west and southern regions.
According to Alan Boswell, an expert on Sudan with the International Crisis Group, the Tasis government may have ended up cementing that division more than enabling it to gain a competitive edge at the negotiation table.
He claimed that the RSF wants to be a legitimate national actor. Even if that is not the government’s strategic goal, “yes,]this government] makes de facto partition all the more likely.”
Khair added that the establishment of a second government encourages armed groups to rise to power in exchange for positions in one of the two governments.
She claimed that “this new government really encourages the growth of various armed groups.” In a wartime conflict, “more armed groups will mobilize to win a position in one of the two governments.”
Source: Aljazeera
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