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 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.

NAIROBI — Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, and its allies signed a charter on Sunday to establish a unity government in the conflict-hit country.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu, 22 smaller rebel movements, and political and civil society groups signed the founding charter for a parallel Sudanese government in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Saturday evening.