As we had reported earlier, Sudanese officials had accused the RSF of killing the governor - who had hours before said the RSF and allied militias were committing genocide against people from the Masalit ethnic group.

But in a statement, the RSF says the governor was killed at “the hands of two outlaws” despite attempts by its forces to protect him.

“The outlaws raided [his residence] in large numbers... which led to the situation getting out of control, and the governor was kidnapped and assassinated in cold blood, in a scene that has nothing to do with humanity,” it said.

The paramilitary force is calling for an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the death, and said it will not hesitate to bring to justice any member of its force found to have been involved in the incident.

The death of the governor comes amid escalating ethnic and sexual dimension of the violence against civilians in the Darfur region, according to the UN.