ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — The African Union (AU) said on Wednesday it would not recognize a “so-called parallel government” in Sudan, urging its members to follow suit.

A bitter two-year civil war in Sudan has pitted the government against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which announced it was forming a government and appointed a prime minister on Saturday.

The AU’s Peace and Security Council “called on all AU Member States and the international community to reject the fragmentation of Sudan and not recognize the so-called ‘parallel government’ which has serious consequences on the peace efforts and the existential future of the country,” it said in a statement.

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, is headed by former United Nations (UN) official Kamil Idris.

On Saturday, the RSF announced its own “government of peace and unity” with Mohamed Hassan al-Ta’ayshi as prime minister and a presidential council.

UN officials warned the move could deepen Sudan’s fragmentation and complicate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict that began in April 2023.

The AU statement also “unequivocally condemned all forms of external interference, which is fueling the Sudanese conflict.”

The UN has repeatedly warned of outside forces fueling the war.

The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF, in violation of a UN arms embargo on Sudan’s western Darfur region.