The Sudanese government has announced the formation of a joint force to maintain security and protect civilians in the troubled western region of Darfur following repeated ethnic clashes, the state-owned Suna news agency reported.

The force will consist of "the armed forces, the [paramilitary] Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the police forces, representatives of the parties to the peace process, the General Intelligence Service and a representative of the attorney general", the agency reports.

The force will be made up of 20,000 soldiers, Paris-based Sudan Tribune website reported.

Darfur has been been plagued by inter-communal violence since December when the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission (Unamid) ended its presence in the region.