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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

Six Chinese Nationals Among Seven Killed in Russian Gas Plant Fire

Trucks race on the frozen Amur River during the Russia-China winter sports festival ZimFestAmur, with the Chinese city of Heihe seen in the background, in the far eastern town of Blagoveshchensk, in Amur region, Russia, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Trucks race on the frozen Amur River during the Russia-China winter sports festival ZimFestAmur, with the Chinese city of Heihe seen in the background, in the far eastern town of Blagoveshchensk, in Amur region, Russia, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)
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Six Chinese Nationals Among Seven Killed in Russian Gas Plant Fire

Trucks race on the frozen Amur River during the Russia-China winter sports festival ZimFestAmur, with the Chinese city of Heihe seen in the background, in the far eastern town of Blagoveshchensk, in Amur region, Russia, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Trucks race on the frozen Amur River during the Russia-China winter sports festival ZimFestAmur, with the Chinese city of Heihe seen in the background, in the far eastern town of Blagoveshchensk, in Amur region, Russia, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Six Chinese nationals were killed and nine more are missing after a fire broke out at a gas chemical complex in Russia's far eastern Amur ‌region, the ‌plant said on Wednesday.

A total of ‌seven ⁠people died and ⁠152 people were treated for injures, including 36 who were rushed to hospitals, the plant said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday.

The fire, which broke out on Tuesday, was extinguished, it added.

An ⁠emergency services plane had arrived to ‌transport the injured ‌to other hospitals in Russia.

The complex, which bills ‌itself as one of the world's largest ‌polyethylene and polypropylene producers, is a joint project of Russian company Sibur and Chinese oil and gas company Sinopec. It has yet to ‌begin operations and was preparing for production start.

Russia frequently relies on ⁠foreign ⁠labor, including workers from China, for the construction of large industrial and infrastructure projects.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it was investigating the incident as a potential breach of industrial safety regulations and was working to establish the cause of the fire.

The Amur Gas Chemical Complex is expected to produce 2.3 million metric tons of polyethylene and 400,000 tons of polypropylene per year.

World

Trump Scores Double Primary Victory in South Carolina, Oklahoma

US Senator Darline Graham (R-SC) speaks with supporters after winning her Republican primary runoff against US Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) for her current US Senate seat, in Columbia, South Carolina, US, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)
US Senator Darline Graham (R-SC) speaks with supporters after winning her Republican primary runoff against US Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) for her current US Senate seat, in Columbia, South Carolina, US, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Scores Double Primary Victory in South Carolina, Oklahoma

US Senator Darline Graham (R-SC) speaks with supporters after winning her Republican primary runoff against US Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) for her current US Senate seat, in Columbia, South Carolina, US, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)
US Senator Darline Graham (R-SC) speaks with supporters after winning her Republican primary runoff against US Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) for her current US Senate seat, in Columbia, South Carolina, US, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump scored a pair of badly needed victories Tuesday as his preferred candidates won Republican runoffs in South Carolina and Oklahoma, US media projected, bolstering his claim that he retains a powerful hold over the party's voters.

In South Carolina, Senator Darline Graham defeated veteran congressman Ralph Norman, according to projections from CNN and NBC. Trump had thrown himself into the race, campaigning for Graham in the state and urging supporters to vote as though his own name were on the ballot.

Trump-backed Mike Mazzei won Oklahoma's Republican gubernatorial runoff against state attorney general Gentner Drummond, whom the president had attacked as a "fake Republican."

The sweep interrupts a bruising run for Trump, whose endorsed candidates had lost 10 Republican contests this cycle, including six in the previous two weeks, as his own approval ratings fell sharply.

The results are also a personal vindication for Trump, who had insisted days earlier that his endorsements were "stronger than ever" and dismissed recent losses as acts of loyalty to candidates he knew faced difficult races.

- 'I'm on the ballot' -

Trump traveled to South Carolina to campaign for Graham and held a telephone rally on the eve of the vote.

"So what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot," Trump told supporters at a rally Friday.

The Trump-supporting MAGA Inc. political organization also spent more than $827,000 on voter calls and text messages -- a rare deployment of its reserves in this year's primaries.

In Oklahoma, more than $9 million has been spent on the runoff since Drummond narrowly finished ahead of Mazzei in the first round of voting in June, US media reported.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Drummond in part because he opposed a proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter backed by the president, arguing that the project could damage local land and communities.

Mazzei, a wealthy former state senator, publicly embraced the project shortly before Trump endorsed him.

World

Erdogan: Türkiye Will Thwart Plots Against Brotherhood Among Turks, Kurds and Arabs

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to thwart plots targeting brotherhood among Turks, Kurds and Arabs. (Turkish Presidency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to thwart plots targeting brotherhood among Turks, Kurds and Arabs. (Turkish Presidency)
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Erdogan: Türkiye Will Thwart Plots Against Brotherhood Among Turks, Kurds and Arabs

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to thwart plots targeting brotherhood among Turks, Kurds and Arabs. (Turkish Presidency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to thwart plots targeting brotherhood among Turks, Kurds and Arabs. (Turkish Presidency)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Tuesday to thwart attempts to undermine ties among Turks, Kurds and Arabs, reaffirming his commitment to a process aimed at disarming the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK).

Türkiye calls the initiative Terror-Free Türkiye, while the Kurdish side refers to it as the “Peace and Democratic Society Process.” It is based on the PKK’s dissolution and disarmament.

“When this process achieves its goal, the merchants of blood, the opportunists who profit from terrorism and the ‘architects of genocide’ seeking to destabilize our country and region will lose,” Erdogan said.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 955th anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert, where the Seljuks defeated the Byzantines, Erdogan said the process would open the way for a new era.

“Humanity, brotherhood, peace and stability will prevail,” he said.

In what was seen as an indirect message to Israel following last week’s attack on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur military airport near the Turkish border and an attack on him by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Erdogan said: “Whatever you do, you will not divert us from our path or prevent Turks, Kurds and Arabs from embracing one another.”

“We know the games you are playing, and we know very well the ‘dirty’ hands reaching into our region. If you have an agenda, we also have an agenda and a plan,” he added.

Separately, the Turkish presidency’s Center for Countering Disinformation said Türkiye had faced a deliberate, foreign-backed psychological campaign in recent days targeting “social unity, brotherhood and peace.”

"No malicious plan or group will achieve its goal, thanks to our nation’s deep wisdom and our state’s firm stance,” the center, which operates under the presidency’s Directorate of Communications, said in a statement.

It urged citizens to remain alert to malicious content, reject posts from unknown sources and rely only on official statements.

Domestic peace process

Erdogan’s pledge to press ahead with the peace process and the presidency’s warnings came as the Monitoring, Evaluation and Coordination Council decided to establish four committees to oversee the PKK’s dissolution and disarmament.

The council held its first meeting under Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and issued a statement late on Monday.

It said the “historic” process — launched to rid Türkiye and the region entirely of terrorism, eliminate violence and weapons, and foster brotherhood — had reached a critical stage.

Parliament’s Aug. 10 adoption of Law No. 7595 on “Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration” reflected the nation’s will and broad political and social consensus, the council said.

Implementation began after Erdogan approved the law on Aug. 18, bringing it into force, it added.

The council described the law as a key pillar of the “Century of Türkiye” vision. It said the legislation would strengthen Türkiye’s internal cohesion and help turn the region into an oasis of peace, prosperity and security amid instability beyond the country’s borders.