Washington Calls on Sudanese Army to Cede Power to Civilian-Led Gov’t

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Washington Calls on Sudanese Army to Cede Power to Civilian-Led Gov’t

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, held talks with the Sudanese army leadership during her five-day visit to Khartoum last week.

The visit was aimed at encouraging the Sudanese to make progress in their efforts to establish a framework for a civilian-led transitional government.

She underscored the urgent imperative of ceding power to a civilian-led transitional government and made clear there would be no resumption of US assistance until the democratic transition is restored.

In a statement published on the official Facebook page of the US embassy in Khartoum, Phee said that the time has come for constructive dialogue and action to establish a civilian-led transitional framework.

She pressed for implementation of confidence-building measures, especially holding accountable those responsible for the deaths of 100 protestors, and for an end to the violence against protestors, including sexual and gender-based violence, suffered by thousands more.

“In a decisive meeting brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia on June 9, key actors took steps to build the confidence necessary to enable the inclusive participation of civilian stakeholders in the political process facilitated by the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission to Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union (AU), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to restore a civilian-led transition to democracy,” the statement read.

Phee affirmed that the United States remains committed to a strong partnership with the people of Sudan in support of their aspirations for freedom, peace, and justice.

The statement further pointed out that Phee met with leaders across the political spectrum, including a broad cross-section of civil society and Resistance Committee representatives, medical doctors and attorneys, women activists, families of martyrs in the pro-democracy struggle, and representatives of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front.

In all of these engagements, the US top official underscored the need for immediate progress and reiterated strong US support for the Sudanese people’s democratic aspirations.



Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said.

The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall "dozens of meters from the target".

"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.

The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.

Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.

The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.

Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.