Hemetti forms security council and plans new army in parallel government move
June 1, Khartoum — RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti” announced on Sunday the formation of a Security and Defence Council within the parallel “Tasis” alliance government, a move framed as a step toward establishing a new national army and one that deepens fears of a permanent partition of Sudan.
The Presidential Council of the Tasis government said in a statement that Hemetti had decided to form the Security and Defence Council “pending the issuance of a law defining the council’s composition and mandate.” The council will be chaired by Hemetti, with SPLM-N leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu serving as deputy chairman. Its membership includes the prime minister and the ministers of defence, finance, foreign affairs, interior, and justice, as well as the directors of police, security and intelligence, and military intelligence.
According to the statement, the council’s mandate includes preparing strategic plans and policies for national security and defence, and approving “a plan to establish a new national army with a new combat doctrine, with the RSF, the SPLM-N, and the movements signatory to the Tasis Sudan charter as its core.”
The Tasis alliance was founded in Nairobi on 22 February 2025 and comprises the RSF and SPLM-N alongside armed factions led by Suleiman Sandal, Al-Taher Hajar, and Al-Hadi Idris, as well as a wing of the National Umma Party.
The alliance began building parallel government institutions in July 2025, starting with a presidential council chaired by Hemetti and a council of ministers, followed by other bodies including a currency council.
The RSF and its allies control most of Darfur, West Kordofan, parts of South and North Kordofan, and areas of Blue Nile. The international community — including the UN Security Council, the African Union, and a number of Arab and African states — has rejected the parallel government and reaffirmed recognition of the authority of the army-led government under Sovereignty Council Chairman General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Kamil Idris.