CAIRO: Two years into a war that has left tens of thousands dead, Sudan`s RSF paramilitary force on Tuesday announced its own government to rival the army-backed administration it is battling.

The Rapid Support Forces, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dag10, the former deputy to the regular army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, announced the rival government amid growing international fears that Sudan could become split between the two sides, who have both been accused of abuses.

`On this anniversary, we proudly declare the establishment of the Government of Peace and Unity, a broad coalition that reflects the true face of Sudan,` Daglo said in a Telegram statement. The RSF and its allies signed a charter in Kenya in February declaring a `government of peace and unity` in areas they control.

The United Nations expressed concerns that the worsening conflict in Sudan could `deepen the fragmentation` of the country, the spokesman for Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, a day after announcement of rival government.

`We are extremely concerned about any further escalation in the Sudanese conflict, including steps which could deepen the fragmentation of the country and further entrench the crisis,` said the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. Guterres`s spokesman added that there was a need to end the conflict `and establish acceptable transitional arrangements.

Daglo`s latest statement said the paramilitaries, with `civil and political forces`, had signed a transitional constitution, that was a `roadmap for a new Sudan`. That constitution provides for a 15-member presidential council `representing all regions, symbolising our voluntary unity`. Analysts have warned that Africa`s third-biggest nation could permanently splinter. With the RSF emboldened in Darfur, `the territorial division that`s occurring could mean a de facto separation,` said Sharath Srinivasan, a professor at Cambridge University who studies Sudan.-AFP