Day 3 of the Masters at a glance

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — A brief look at the third round Saturday of the Masters:

LEADING: Rory McIlroy shot 6-under 66 to take a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau (69) heading into Sunday.

CHASING: Corey Conners (70) was four shots back of McIlroy. Patrick Reed (69) and Ludvig Aberg (69) were six shots adrift.

IN THE HUNT: Defending champion Scottie Scheffler (72) couldn't make up any ground and was at 5 under for the tournament. Jason Day (71) and Shane Lowry (72) were with him along with second-round leader Justin Rose, who shot 75.

EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN: Rose was only the ninth player since 1980 to lead the Masters outright after each of the first two rounds. He appears to be following in the footsteps of most of the rest; Jordan Spieth in 2015 was the only one to win.

SCUFFLING SCHEFFLER: The world's No. 1 player was fortunate to shoot 72 after a day of wayward shots. Scheffler's scrambling ability saved him. He has never shot over par in a weekend round at the Masters.

FEELING NOSTALGIC: Zach Johnson shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday, the best score by the 2007 champion in 65 career rounds at Augusta National. He had gone 28 straight rounds at the Masters since his last in the 60s.

SHOT OF THE DAY: McIlroy hit his second shot from 205 yards at the par-5 15th to 6 feet and made the putt for eagle.

KEY STATISTIC: DeChambeau is known for his prodigious length, but he also is leading the field in putting this week.

NOTEWORTHY: McIlroy had his seventh round of 66 or better at the Masters. Only Tiger Woods has more with eight.

QUOTEWORTHY: “I’ll have some dinner. Maybe try to make it through the second episode of the third season of ‘Bridgerton.’” — McIlroy, on how he plans to prepare for the final round.

TELEVISION: Final-round coverage begins Sunday at noon EDT on Paramount+ and 2 p.m. EDT on CBS.

AP Masters coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters

Jason Day, of Australia, reacts after missing a putt on the eighth hole during the third round at the Masters golf tournament, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Bryson DeChambeau tosses his club on the 12th hole during the third round at the Masters golf tournament, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Corey Conners, of Canada, hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during the third round at the Masters golf tournament, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after a birdie on the 18th hole during the third round at the Masters golf tournament, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, tosses his putter on the 18th hole during the third round at the Masters golf tournament, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

CAIRO (AP) — A notorious paramilitary group fighting against the Sudanese military announced that it was forming a rival government, which will rule parts of the country controlled by the group including the western Darfur region where the United Nations says recent attacks by the group have killed over 400 people.

Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces, announced the move in a speech on Tuesday as the northeastern African nation marked two years of civil war.

“On this anniversary, we proudly declare the establishment of the Government of Peace and Unity,” Dagalo said in a recorded speech, adding that other groups have joined the RSF-led administration, including a faction of the Sudan’s Liberation Movement, which controls parts of Kordofan region.

Dagalo, who is sanctioned by the U.S. over accusations that his forces committed genocide in Darfur, said that he and his allies were also establishing “a 15-member Presidential Council” representing all of Sudan’s regions.

The move came as the RSF suffered multiple battlefield setbacks, losing the capital, Khartoum and other urban cities in recent months. The paramilitary group has since regrouped in its stronghold in the sprawling region of Darfur.

It raises concerns that Sudan is heading towards partition, or a prolonged conflict like that one in neighboring Libya where two rival administrations have been fighting for power for over a decade. The nation of South Sudan won independence from Sudan in a 2011 referendum that followed a war in which Janjaweed militias, a predecessor to the RSF, fought on behalf of the government.

The Janjaweed were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities.

Many countries, including the U.S., have rejected the RSF efforts to establish an administration in areas they control.

“Attempts to establish a parallel government are unhelpful for peace & security for the country, and risk further instability & de facto partition of the country,” the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs posted on X in March when the RSF and its allies signed what they called “transitional constitution” in a Kenya-hosted conference.

Sudan was plunged into chaos on April 15, 2023 when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country.

Since then, at least 24,000 people have been killed, though the number is likely far higher. The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who have crossed into neighboring countries, and pushed parts of the country into famine.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.

Dagalo’s announcement has come a few days after his forces and allied militias rampaged through two famine-hit camps, which shelter some 700,000 Sudanese who fled their homes, in North Darfur province.

The multi-day attack on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps killed more than 400 people, including 12 aid workers and dozens of children, the U.N. humanitarian office said, citing local sources.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday the attack forced up to 400,000 people to flee the Zamzam camp in recent days.

He said the camp has become inaccessible after the RSF and its allied militias took control of it, “restricting the movement of those remaining, especially young people.”

FILE - Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council speaks at a ceremony in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, on Aug. 4, 2019. (AP Photo, File)