Sudan Conflict ‘Likely to Be Protracted’ - US Intelligence

By Staff, Agencies

US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that fighting in the country is "likely to be protracted."

“The fighting in Sudan between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces is, we assess, likely to be protracted as both sides believe they can win militarily and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table,” Haines said.

The foes, she continued, both are seeking "external sources of support," which if forthcoming, "is likely to intensify the conflict and create a greater potential for spillover challenges in the region."

The ongoing violence, Haines warned, is worsening the "already dire humanitarian conditions" and forced aid organizations to curtail operations amid growing fears of "massive refugee flows."

Hundreds of people have lost their lives in Sudan since the fighting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's forces and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo's RSF began on April 15 over a dispute on the planned integration of the paramilitary into the regular army.