The US expects the fighting between two military chiefs in Sudan will not likely let up as neither has any incentive to seek peace, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Thursday.
"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 that they can win militarily and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table," Haines told a Senate hearing.
"Both sides are seeking external sources of support, which, if successful, is likely to intensify the conflict and create a greater potential for spillover challenges in the region," she said.
Haines, the country's top intelligence official, said the fighting has exacerbated already-dire humanitarian conditions, "raising the spectre of massive refugee flows and aid needs in the region."
Fighting continued in Khartoum for the 20th straight day Thursday after the latest ceasefire between the two sides failed.
