Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allies have signed a charter that paved the way for the establishment of a parallel government, as Sudan’s army made advances recently against the rival groups.

The Rapid Support Forces said it was paving the way to an end to the civil war. Critics called it an audacious gambit by a group that the United States has accused of genocide.

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies have agreed to form a parallel government, they said Sunday, despite warnings such a move could further fragment the war-ravaged country.