PORT SUDAN (AFP) — A coalition led by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday named a civilian prime minister and unveiled a presidential council to lead a rival government, challenging the military-backed administration and risking a further push toward the war-torn country's division.

The announcement, made during a press conference broadcast from the RSF-controlled city of Nyala in South Darfur, comes more than two years into the war between the RSF and the army.

The RSF appointed Mohamed Hassan al-Ta'ayshi — a former member of Sudan's transitional sovereign council from 2019 until the 2021 military coup — as prime minister of what it calls the "government of peace and unity."

Sudan is split, with the army controlling the north, east and center, having recently retaken the capital Khartoum, while the RSF holds most of Darfur and parts of Kordofan, where recent attacks have killed hundreds, according to local rights groups.

The internationally-recognized army-aligned government, formed in May and headed by former United Nations official Kamil Idris, remains incomplete, with three cabinet positions still unfilled.