Army-backed Sudan government recalls Kenya envoy in protest

Sudan's army-backed government recalled its ambassador from Kenya on Thursday in protest at Nairobi's hosting of its paramilitary foes' preparations to establish a rival administration.

 The foreign ministry summoned its envoy "for consultations in protest against Kenya hosting the meetings of the rebel militia and its allies in another hostile move against Sudan," state news agency SUNA reported.

 At a high-profile event in Nairobi this week, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the regular 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 an earlier statement, Sudan's foreign ministry had accused Kenyan President William Ruto of adopting a "disgraceful position by embracing and encouraging a conspiracy" that violates Sudan's sovereignty.

 A source close to the organisers of the RSF meeting told AFP that the signing of the charter, which was originally planned for Tuesday, had been postponed until Friday.

 The war between the army and the RSF which broke out in April 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million.

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 It has torn the country in two, with the army in control of the north and east, while the RSF holds nearly all of the west and swathes of the south.

 In a series of offensives this year, the army has retaken swathes of greater Khartoum as well as Al-Jazira state to its south.

 The RSF's preparations to form a rival government in territories it controls come as it seeks to consolidate its hold on the Darfur region of western Sudan, where only the city of El-Fasher and its environs are held by the army.

 A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that the move could "increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse".

The Kenyan foreign ministry on Wednesday defended its hosting of the RSF event, saying it was "compatible with Kenya's role in peace negotiations" in which it has sought to act as mediator between the two sides.

 The army-backed government responded by accusing the Kenyan president Thursday of acting on "his commercial and personal interests with the militia's regional sponsors".

 It was alluding to the United Arab Emirates, which has been widely accused of arming the RSF despite its strong denials.

 Last month, Kenya and the UAE signed an economic agreement, which Ruto's office hailed as "a historic milestone" and "the first agreement of its kind".