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UN Accuses Machar’s South Sudan Rebel Group of Crimes against Humanity

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar. (Reuters)
South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar. (Reuters)
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UN Accuses Machar’s South Sudan Rebel Group of Crimes against Humanity

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar. (Reuters)
South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar. (Reuters)

The United Nations has accused South Sudan armed opposition group, led by Riek Machar, of committing crimes against humanity in the Western Equatoria region. The accusations are the first-ever charges by the UN against Machar’s movement.

According to the UN, in April 2018 before the peace agreement signed in August, Sudan People’s Liberation Army- in Opposition (SPLA-IO) forcefully took 900 people including children and women.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it has facilitated the release of 24 persons detained in relation to the conflict in South Sudan, including 16 detainees released earlier on Friday.

This week marks the first releases of prisoners supervised by the ICRC following the signing of the latest peace agreement in which parties to the conflict agreed to free detainees.

The ICRC statement, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, confirmed the release of the war captives to be the first batch since the agreement signing on September 12. However, the organization refused to release the names of those released.

UN charges facing the SPLA-IO included killings, rape, slavery, forced recruitment, destruction of more than 28 villages and the targeting of civilians.

The UN said that other than kidnapping 900 people, the rebel movement forced more than 2,000 people to flee their homes between April and August.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet appealed to the rebel movement to release nearly 1,000 civilians allegedly abducted from the Western Equatoria region.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS, David Shearer, said it was disappointing that the spike in violence took place while warring parties were negotiating a new peace agreement and despite positive reconciliation efforts in the affected community at the time.

“A new peace agreement has been signed which puts the onus and responsibility on the warring parties to ensure that no atrocities are committed in the future. UNMISS will be closely monitoring any potential violations and abuses,” said Shearer.

However, SPLA-IO deputy spokesman Paul Lam Kabriel denied that his movement committed any of the claimed atrocities.

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World

Trump's New Press Secretary Admits Failing Bar Exam

President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington, as White House press secretary Katie Zacharia looks on. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington, as White House press secretary Katie Zacharia looks on. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Trump's New Press Secretary Admits Failing Bar Exam

President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington, as White House press secretary Katie Zacharia looks on. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington, as White House press secretary Katie Zacharia looks on. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia acknowledged on Thursday that she had failed the bar exam, a prerequisite for practicing law in the United States, as her credentials face scrutiny.

Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media, and listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit.

But the legal credentials of the press secretary, who President Donald Trump appointed last week, were called into question after she gave an inconclusive answer about where she had passed the bar exam.

The 41-year-old graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011, but obtaining a law degree does not automatically qualify someone to practice law.

In a Fox News interview on Thursday, host Sean Hannity asked Zacharia: "You took the bar exam, but you didn't pass the bar exam, correct?"

"Yes," she responded.

In a separate interview with conservative media outlet Real America's Voice on Thursday, Zacharia said she had registered to take the bar exam but was "distracted and overwhelmed" by plans to move to China with her husband.

"The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China," AFP quoted her as saying.

Foreign nationals cannot sit China's bar exam, although they can undertake certain legal work at Chinese law firms.

Hannity later asked Zacharia if she had ever taken the bar exam a second time, to which she said: "I did not."

"I had four kids in six years," she said. "It was never my intent to go into the practice of law."

Zacharia said on Real America's Voice that "many people in the field" had assured her that she could "label myself a lawyer," given her law degree and experience in business law gained in China, where she worked at a Beijing law firm.

She added that she could "provide legal analysis, not legal advice."

"I was very careful how I executed this."

The Campaign for Accountability, a political ethics organization, called on Wednesday for the California Bar Association to launch an investigation.

"In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn't puffery; it's a crime," the organization said in a press release.

Zacharia held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday with an unusually short press conference, answering questions from only three journalists.

She succeeded Karoline Leavitt, a loyal Trump supporter and often combative press secretary, who stepped down in August to care for her young children.

World

Teen Sentenced to 20 Years for UK Murder Plot Tied to Iran-linked Group

A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
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Teen Sentenced to 20 Years for UK Murder Plot Tied to Iran-linked Group

A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

A Norwegian teenager who planned to commit murder in Britain after being recruited by a Swedish organized crime group linked to the Iranian government was on Friday sentenced to 20 years' detention.

Johannes Natland, now 19, was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, northern England, in March ⁠2025 with two ⁠firearms and ammunition in his possession.

Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group used by the Iranian state and sanctioned by ⁠both Britain and the United States, prosecutors said.

He admitted possessing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and ammunition, but denied conspiracy to murder and claimed he did not intend to carry out the plan.

But he was convicted in July after a retrial ⁠and ⁠was sentenced at London's Woolwich Crown Court to detention for 20 years.

Natland was the latest young adult to stand trial in Britain and elsewhere over serious criminal acts allegedly carried out after being recruited online for money, often as an unwitting proxy for a foreign state.

World

UN: Millions May Be Forced to Move as Climate Change Hits South Asia

International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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UN: Millions May Be Forced to Move as Climate Change Hits South Asia

International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Climate change is threatening livelihoods and forcing people from their homes across South Asia, but technology and government action could help limit the damage, the UN migration chief told AFP on Friday.

Rising seas, flooding and drought threaten homes and farmland, Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said during a visit to New Delhi.

In the Himalayas, she pointed to Nepal's August 26 disaster, when a mountain and glacier collapse triggered deadly flooding, where IOM sent humanitarian aid to help.

In a worst-case scenario, up to 40.5 million people in South Asia may be forced to move by 2050, according to IOM.

"When they can't produce food, when they can't feed their livestock, it increases the likelihood of displacement," said Pope. "The first adaptation is often for people to move."

Pope said climate change was also accelerating urbanization in India.

"As people seek shelter from heat, they're going into urban centers," she said.

- 'Migration as a tool' -

The risks are particularly acute in South Asia, where vast populations and limited resources leave many communities vulnerable.

"There's a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing," Pope said, warning that funding to help residents prepare for climate change remained inadequate.

"The cost of a humanitarian disaster is in the billions. The cost of investing in some of the resilience measures can be far less," she said.

Better data and artificial intelligence could help governments identify communities at risk before disaster strikes, Pope said.

"With the advancements in AI forecasting, you can now better anticipate those communities that are at high risk of displacement," Pope said.

By combining weather forecasts with information about local livelihoods, authorities can identify which communities most need help.

"If you know a community is at risk, we don't need to wait until they're displaced to respond," she said.

Measures could include improving farming methods, training people for other jobs and, where necessary, relocating communities repeatedly hit by floods or drought.

Finding the money for such programs is a major obstacle, Pope said, with governments often struggling to navigate the systems available to fund climate adaptation.

India's investments in early-warning systems, disaster response and technology offer grounds for optimism, she said. But no government can meet the scale of the challenge alone.

International migration can also help people earn a living while filling labor shortages abroad.

South Asia already has established migration routes, offering opportunities to build on existing links.

"Here we have government partners who recognize both the threats to their communities but they're also using migration as a tool for development," Pope said.

She warned that growing demand for workers must be matched by safe, legal routes to employment.

Otherwise, migrants risk exploitation by traffickers and smugglers, including through fraudulent overseas job offers.

India's technological capacity could also help its workers compete internationally as artificial intelligence reshapes employment, Pope said.

AI could threaten some jobs, particularly those involving routine analysis of documents and reports, but other sectors still rely heavily on human labor.

"If we can marry that capacity with the labor mobility, so that the workers are being skilled for those jobs as they're emerging, they will be ahead," Pope said.

"This is a place where I have more optimism than in places where we're dealing with the most acute crises," she said.