The crisis in Sudan could worsen if paramilitary forces fighting the army go ahead with plans to declare a parallel government, the United Nations warned on Wednesday.
"For us, preserving the unity of Sudan, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity, remains a key ingredient for a sustainable resolution of the conflict," the UN secretary-general's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
At a high-profile event in Nairobi this week, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the Sudanese army for nearly two years, said they would sign a founding charter that would lead to the formation of a "peace and unity government" in Sudan.
Initially scheduled for Tuesday at Nairobi's state-owned Kenyatta International Convention Centre, the signing was postponed to Friday.
Hunger and displacement crisis
"We're very deeply concerned about any further escalation of the Sudanese conflict, and any steps like this one, which would increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse," Dujarric said of the planned proclamation.
Sudan's foreign ministry, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, criticised Kenya for allowing the event.
Since April 2023, the war between the army and RSF has killed thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.
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