Two rebel groups from Sudan’s Darfur region say they will fight alongside the army in the country’s civil war.

This comes after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) made major gains in Darfur, where it has been accused of ethnic cleansing.

Rebel leader Gibril Ibrahim told BBC Newsday they “want to defend their civilians” from the RSF, which he says has been burying people alive.

He said the decision to join forces with the army was not an easy one.

The leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) said it had taken seven months to come to an agreement.

The relationship between Jem and the Sudanese army is fraught. Mr Ibrahim’s brother was killed by the army, who was previously the group’s leader.

Jem and the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) took up arms in Darfur in 2003, accusing the government of marginalizing the region’s black African communities.