RSF deputy threatens wider Sudan war, touts parallel currency plans

March 6, 2025 (NAIROBI) – The second commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, Abdel Rahim Daglo, said on Thursday that preparations were underway to print currency and passports for a parallel government and threatened to invade areas in northern and eastern Sudan to “liberate” them.

On Tuesday, the RSF, allied political forces, and armed groups signed a draft transitional constitution that would serve as a framework for a parallel government they plan to form in areas under their control.

Speaking to politicians and some Darfur traditional leaders in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Daglo said, ” One piece of good news, and part of the foundation, is that the machines for printing currency and passports are ready.”

He said the locations for printing currency and passports would be protected from airstrikes.

Territory controlled by the RSF has shrunk considerably since the Sudanese army launched a military operation on June 26, recapturing Sennar, Al-Jazirah states, large parts of Khartoum, and North Kordofan states.

Dagalo said he intended to put aside civilian clothes after three days to go to the battlefield and lead military operations. He threatened to invade Northern State, River Nile State, Kassala, and the city of Port Sudan in eastern Sudan, pledging to “liberate” them.

He acknowledged the RSF had lost many fighters during the war, stating: “We have lost our best youth, but we will not retreat. We will fight.”

The move to form a parallel government in RSF-controlled areas has been widely rejected by the Sudanese government and the international community amid fears it could lead to the partition of the country, which has been ravaged by nearly two years of intense conflict.