US envoy says both sides in Sudan believe a 'decisive military victory' is possible

The United States' envoy for Africa, Massad Boulos, said that both sides fighting in Sudan's civil war believe they could still achieve a decisive military victory, making a negotiated end to the conflict harder to reach in the near term.

Speaking to France 24 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Boulos said each of the warring parties in Sudan continues to believe it can prevail on the battlefield, a dynamic that has complicated international efforts to broker a ceasefire in the conflict.

Boulos was also asked about the long-running dispute over Western Sahara. He acknowledged that there is no "imminent solution that we can feel or touch" to the territorial dispute, suggesting that a breakthrough is not close despite ongoing diplomatic engagement.

The envoy additionally addressed accusations from Rwanda that Washington has been biased in its approach to US sanctions linked to the region. Boulos rejected the claim of bias, saying the sanctions in question "can easily be reversed," an indication that Washington views the measures as a lever rather than a fixed position.

Boulos's comments, delivered during a high-level diplomatic week in New York, underline the difficulty facing US and international mediators as they try to move Sudan's warring factions toward talks while managing related disputes elsewhere on the continent.