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Ex-Officials Speak to Asharq Al-Awsat on Washington’s Sudan Policy

Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)
Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)
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Ex-Officials Speak to Asharq Al-Awsat on Washington’s Sudan Policy

Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)
Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)

As Sudan marks one year since the start of its war, US efforts to broker peace and deliver aid to millions trapped in the conflict are struggling.

After talks in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah stalled months ago, the US is aiming to bring warring sides back to the negotiating table this month, led by the new special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello.

Former US officials speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat have weighed in their thoughts on the Sudan conflict and US policy in the region.

Former US Ambassador to South Sudan Susan Page called the situation in Sudan horrific, expressing concern that it's not getting enough global media attention amid other international crises.

She told Asharq Al-Awsat that while there are many crises worldwide, Sudan is crucial, and its people are really suffering.

Donald Booth, former US Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, sees deepening divisions in Sudan after a year of conflict.

Booth explained that the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by figures from Omar al-Bashir’s era, now rely more on support from former Bashir allies, including the Justice and Equality Movement from Darfur.

This has narrowed the neutral ground among armed groups.

The army’s ceasefire terms involve disbanding the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

On the other hand, the RSF fear they’ll lose their place in Sudan if the army wins, so they’re motivated to fight, especially with external backing.

Moreover, civilian political and civil society groups, aiming for a civilian-led transition, are divided by political and personal rifts, Booth told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Alberto Fernandez, former Chargé d'affaires of the US Embassy in Khartoum, sees little change in the military situation, noting that despite recent army gains, the humanitarian crisis for Sudanese people continues to worsen.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Fernandez added that while the army advances, it’s not a clear victory, and more fighting is expected.

For his part, Cameron Hudson, former Chief of Staff in the Special Envoy’s Office for Sudan, believes ending the war has become harder.

According to Hudson, both sides struggle to surrender, and the international community has lost focus, leaving Sudan in chaos.

As the conflict drags on without a clear end in sight, Fernandez presents two options for the Biden administration to consider, though he warns of their risks: Firstly, convincing both sides to agree to a negotiated settlement with an immediate ceasefire.

Secondly, a strong commitment from the US to support one side over the other.

Fernandez explained that both sides are determined to win, especially the army, which believes it’s gaining ground.

So, the weaker side would be the one seeking a ceasefire.

The question for US policy, as per Fernandez, is whether to focus on ceasefire, aid, and negotiations, or to back the military for a decisive victory without knowing what comes next.

Meanwhile, Page criticizes the US administration’s handling of Sudan, citing delays in appointing a US ambassador to Khartoum.

She noted that US policy has made many mistakes and missed opportunities.

Much of Washington’s diplomacy has become one-sided, focused only on counterterrorism, revealed Page.

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Arab World

Lebanon Arrests ‘Israeli Agent’ Whose Intel Led to Assassination of Top Hezbollah Officials

Mourners gather during the funeral of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon August 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Mourners gather during the funeral of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon August 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Arrests ‘Israeli Agent’ Whose Intel Led to Assassination of Top Hezbollah Officials

Mourners gather during the funeral of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon August 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Mourners gather during the funeral of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon August 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Lebanese security and judicial authorities have opened a new espionage case involving Israel after arresting a Lebanese man suspected of links to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and of passing detailed security information about Hezbollah leaders and targets.

The military judiciary took over the case after the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch completed its preliminary investigation.

A Lebanese judicial source familiar with the case said the detainee was considered one of the most dangerous agents because of his ties to Hezbollah officials and his ability, according to initial investigations, to access sensitive information used in operations targeting senior leaders.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that security forces arrested the man, a member of the Khalifeh family, at Rafik Hariri International Airport last week after previously tracking him, monitoring telephone numbers that were in contact with suspicious numbers abroad, and obtaining detailed information about his dealings with Israel.

The source described him as “a high-level Israeli agent” who posed a serious threat.

The suspect was preparing to leave Lebanon for Iraq when he was arrested.

The source said he traveled between Beirut and Iraq and was married to an Iraqi woman. Initial investigation findings indicated that he traveled from Iraq to Türkiye to meet people linked to Mossad, where he handed over information collected in Beirut about specific targets.

The judicial source said the information he passed to Israel helped identify targets that led to the assassination of Hezbollah officials in 2024, including four senior security commanders.

They are believed to have included Fuad Shukr, who was assassinated in August 2024, and Ibrahim Aqil, who was assassinated in September that year.

The arrest comes amid a series of detentions involving dozens of people who formed espionage networks for Israel, particularly after the latest war, which saw complex security and intelligence operations targeting Hezbollah leaders and facilities.

The source said the case’s seriousness was linked not only to the accusations against the detainee but also to his position and relationships.

According to the investigation, he was close to several Hezbollah leaders, giving him access to sensitive information.

The detainee underwent preliminary questioning and was referred to the Military Court to begin his trial.

The case is expected to face further scrutiny because of the volume of information he is believed to have collected and the parties with which he is suspected of communicating.

Arab World

Israel Allocates $434 Million for 34 New West Bank Settlements

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a press conference regarding settlements expansion for the long-frozen E1 settlement, that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a press conference regarding settlements expansion for the long-frozen E1 settlement, that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Allocates $434 Million for 34 New West Bank Settlements

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a press conference regarding settlements expansion for the long-frozen E1 settlement, that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a press conference regarding settlements expansion for the long-frozen E1 settlement, that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel's security cabinet approved ‌a budget of 1.3 billion shekels ($434 million) for establishing 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday, adding to tensions over territory widely viewed as central to a potential Palestinian state.

UN bodies, Palestinians and most countries view the settlements as illegal under international conventions - a stance disputed by Israel - and a primary obstacle to peace.

Smotrich, who has long opposed Palestinian ‌statehood, is head of ‌the Religious Zionism party that ‌draws ⁠much of its support ⁠from settlements and is running in the upcoming legislative election on October 27.

The planned settlements would bring the total established under his four-year tenure to 103.

Smotrich said another 1.075 billion shekels would be approved to pave roads to the new settlements.

Last ⁠month, government ministers referred the settlement ‌funding plan to the security ‌cabinet.

Smotrich called the cabinet's decision historic and a "day of ‌celebration for Israel and settlements", thanking Prime Minister Benjamin ‌Netanyahu for his support.

Opinion polls point to Netanyahu losing in the October election.

"We are strengthening the security of the State of Israel, killing the idea of establishing ‌a terrorist state in the heart of the country, and strengthening our hold ⁠on ⁠the homeland in Judea and Samaria," Smotrich said in a statement, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

There has been a rise in settler violence in recent months against Palestinians and their property. About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel has not extended sovereignty to the occupied West Bank, while refuting international objections to the settlements and arguing that it is a disputed territory where Jews have lived for thousands of years.

Arab World

Sudan Risks Deeper Hunger Crisis Due to War, Aid Cuts and Hormuz Disruption, Says WFP

A Sudanese woman peels beans inside a shelter in the al-Rahmaniya camp for displaced people near the city of al-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 9, 2026. (AFP)
A Sudanese woman peels beans inside a shelter in the al-Rahmaniya camp for displaced people near the city of al-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 9, 2026. (AFP)
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Sudan Risks Deeper Hunger Crisis Due to War, Aid Cuts and Hormuz Disruption, Says WFP

A Sudanese woman peels beans inside a shelter in the al-Rahmaniya camp for displaced people near the city of al-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 9, 2026. (AFP)
A Sudanese woman peels beans inside a shelter in the al-Rahmaniya camp for displaced people near the city of al-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 9, 2026. (AFP)

Sudan risks sliding backwards into deeper hunger as conflict, aid funding cuts and rising agricultural costs driven by disruption linked to the Iran war threaten to reverse gains made after famine took hold in parts of the country, a senior World Food Program official said on Tuesday.

The war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, now in its fourth year, has displaced millions and devastated much of the country.

Aid ‌agencies have ‌repeatedly warned of worsening food insecurity and limited humanitarian access.

Sudan remains ‌the ⁠world's largest humanitarian ⁠crisis, with around 5 million people facing emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger, even after an intensive aid response helped reduce the number of people in famine-like conditions, Carl Skau, the WFP's acting executive director, told Reuters.

"It's a massive crisis, both in terms of numbers, but also the gravity," he said, adding that more than 100,000 people were still facing famine-like conditions, placing them in the highest level of the ⁠UN-backed IPC hunger classification.

"With these kinds of numbers in ‌IPC (Phase) 5 starvation it is extremely, extremely serious," ‌he said.

Across Sudan, nearly 19.5 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity, according ‌to the IPC.

Skau said recent fighting around al-Obeid in North Kordofan ‌had raised fears the city could suffer a fate similar to el-Fashir in Darfur, where conflict and siege conditions have trapped civilians and hindered aid deliveries.

In recent days, however, violence has eased somewhat, raising hopes aid deliveries can be expanded from 100,000 to 250,000 people around ‌al-Obeid.

The WFP is also increasingly concerned about renewed fighting over the past week in Darfur, which has forced the ⁠closure of the Tine ⁠border crossing, a route from Chad into Darfur.

Throughout the country WFP has reduced the number of people it assists from 5 million a year ago to about 3.5 million and reduced rations in many areas, including in Tawila in Darfur, as it faces a $646 million funding gap after cuts from major donors, including the United States, European countries and Britain.

"We're not heading in the right direction here," Skau said. "If anything, we are falling backwards."

Skau also warned that soaring diesel prices and fertilizer shortages linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could further undermine Sudan's food security during the current planting season.

Sudan relies heavily on fertilizer imports from Gulf countries, while much of its agriculture depends on irrigation pumps, which may be too expensive for farmers to run.