According to the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, combat is unlikely to end since neither side is motivated to make peace.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= Aljazeera |
According to US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the conflict between the two military leaders in Sudan is expected to continue since neither has any motivation to work toward peace.
Haines stated before a US Senate committee on Thursday that the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is "likely to be protracted because both sides believe they can win militarily and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table."
"Both sides are looking for outside support, which, if successful, is likely to escalate the conflict and increase the possibility of challenges spreading throughout the region," she added.
Haines, the top person in charge of US intelligence, claimed that the conflict has made the region's already bad humanitarian situation even worse by "raising the specter of massive refugee flows and aid needs."
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= Aljazeera |
Thursday saw fighting in Khartoum go on for the 20th day in a row after the most recent truce between the two sides was broken. The army was engaged in fierce combat as it attempted to drive the RSF away from locations near the presidential palace and army headquarters in central Khartoum.
Even though there have been more than two weeks of combat, neither faction's leaders have publicly indicated that they are eager to engage in discussions. Instead, they appear to be fighting for control of specific areas of the city.
According to Hiba Morgan of Al Jazeera, who was reporting from Khartoum, part of the violence on Thursday was centered around the presidential palace.
"Overhead fighter planes were circling the general command of the army headquarters and the presidential palace. Around the presidential palace, heavy artillery was being fired, she said.
"We can see out smoke billowing at the army's general headquarters. The military is in charge of the overall command, while the Rapid Support Forces are in charge of numerous nearby places, including the presidential palace, which the Sudanese army has been attempting to retake since Wednesday. People claim that because of the ongoing fighting, they were unable to leave their homes.
Also audible were heavy bombardments in the nearby cities of Omdurman and Bahri. A seven-day truce that both parties had agreed to had been broken.
"There are air strikes and the sounds of clashes since yesterday evening and this morning," Al-Sadiq Ahmed, a 49-year-old engineer speaking to Reuters from Khartoum, said.
"Because the fighting occurs near the cores of populated areas, we have entered a state of constant anxiety. The conclusion of this horror and the anxiety is unknown to us, he added.
After six trucks were looted, the United Nations pressured the opposing sides to ensure the safe delivery of aid. Martin Griffiths, the head of UN relief efforts, stated that he intended to meet face-to-face with representatives from each side in the next two to three days to obtain commitments for assistance convoys.
The UN has cautioned that the combat that broke out between the army and RSF on April 15 has the potential of resulting in a humanitarian disaster that might spread to neighboring nations. 860,000 refugees are expected to leave the country of North Africa, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who added that $445 million will be needed to help them only until October.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= Aljazeera |
