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The documentary, which will air this Sunday on “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper,” exposes an RSF-led campaign to enslave men and women in El Geneina, the largest city controlled by the paramilitary group in Sudan’s Darfur region. Several former Darfuri abductees told CNN that fighters from the RSF and their Arab militia allies hurled racist abuse at them during their captivity. ‘They flogged us with whips’Another woman told CNN she and the female members of her family were raped in captivity for four days. Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/ReutersCNN also found evidence of the enslavement of males as part of the attack on El Geneina. They felt his biceps because they said they “wanted a strong one,” he told CNN.

Persons: Chad CNN — Mahdi, “, ” Mahdi, “ I’d crouch, –, Anderson Cooper, ”, Zohra Bensemra, El Geneina, Wagner —, Khalid, Alex Platt, —, Mahdi, abductees, Raghm, ’ ”, ’, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Wagner Organizations: Chad CNN, CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Red Cross, Reuters, Chadian, El, Industrial School, Strategic Initiative, Women, Unit, CNN Rights, Darfur —, Human Rights, Reuters CNN Locations: Chad, West Darfur, El, El Geneina, Darfur, Sudan's Darfur, Ourang, Adre, Russian, Sudan —, Sudan, Horn of Africa, Khartoum, “

☆ Clashes at Lebanon-Israel border raise fears of wider war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shelling in Dahaira, in southern Lebanon, at the border with Israel on October 16. Hussein Malla/APIsraeli soldiers patrol a road near the border with Lebanon, on Monday, amid threat of a regional conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. It is an ominous sign of what may come if the situation on the Lebanon-Israel border combusts into a full-scale war. By Friday morning, three Israeli soldiers and three Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the exchanges across the border. On Sunday, the Lebanese militants fired at several Israeli locations at the border, killing one civilian and one soldier.

Persons: Southern Lebanon CNN —, Hussein Malla, Francisco Seco, Amir Abdollahian, ”, “, Gerald Ford —, Israel, Issam Abdallah, Abdallah, Israel —, Israel’s, Bashar al, Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah Organizations: Southern, Southern Lebanon CNN, Hezbollah –, Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s, US, CNN, Israeli Apache, Hezbollah, Palestinian, ISIS, Observers, Israel Locations: Southern Lebanon, Israel, Iran, United States, Lebanon, Syria, Golan, Tehran, Dahaira, Tunisia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Gaza, Palestinian, Israeli, Hanita, Russian

☆ Journalists hit as Israel fired at Lebanon were clearly marked as press, CNN analysis shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi Sarah El Sirgany Gianluca Mezzofiore Allegra Goodwin Anneclaire Stapleton | Tamara Qiblawi | Sarah El Sirgany | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Journalists from international news organizations Al Jazeera, Agence France Presse, and Reuters were among the victims, according to statements from their outlets. Hanita is just across the border from the Lebanese town of Alma Chaab, where the group of journalists was covering the exchange of fire, CNN’s video analysis shows. In videos verified by CNN of the aftermath of the attack, at least two other journalists are seen bloodied. Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group backed by Iran, said it fired at four different Israeli locations on Friday. Earlier on Friday, a CNN team had met Abdallah at a pro-Palestinian rally being covered by journalists at the border town of Maroun el-Ras.

Persons: Al, Hanita, Alma Chaab, CNN’s geolocations, Christina Assi, Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah, Assi, Instagram Abdallah, CNN’s, Benjamin Pittet, Dylan Collins, ”, Israel, Abdallah, Shireen Abu Akleh Organizations: Southern, Southern Lebanon CNN, CNN, Journalists, Agence France Presse, Reuters, Social, “ Press, AFP, Alma, Apache, West Bank Locations: Southern Lebanon, Lebanon, Hanita, Alma, Instagram, Alma Chaab, Geoconfirmed, American, AFP, ” Israel, Israel, Gaza, Lebanese, Iran, Maroun el, Palestinian

☆ Why have guns gone quiet on the Israel-Lebanon border?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

After five days of near constant crossfire between fighters in Lebanon and Israeli forces, the guns seem to have largely gone quiet. Hezbollah’s political stance has unambiguously supported the Palestinian militants. Hezbollah has fired back at Israeli border positions with precision-guided missiles. Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP via Getty ImagesThree Hezbollah militants and three Israeli soldiers have been killed in the nearly week-long exchange of fire here. Thursday’s calm on the Lebanon-Israel border – interrupted occasionally by Israeli interceptions of rockets from Palestinian militants – begs many questions.

Persons: Israel’s, Mahmoud Zayyat, Gerald R Ford, Houthi, Bashar al, Assad, Syria’s, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, Lebanon's, Emilie Madi, Hassan Nasrallah, – Organizations: Lebanon CNN, Palestinian, United Nations Interim Force, UNIFIL, Getty, ISIS, Reuters Hezbollah, Revolutionary Guards Locations: Marjeyoun, Lebanon, Israel, East, Iran, Gaza, Kfar Kila, AFP, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Beirut

☆ Sudan: Ukraine's special services 'likely' behind strikes on Wagner-backed forces, a Ukrainian military source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Victoria Butenko Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Allegra Goodwin Andrew Carey Pallabi Munsi Mahamat Tahir Zene Barbara Arvanitidis Alex Platt Lauren Kent | Victoria Butenko | Nima Elbagir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Covert strikes by Ukraine in Sudan would mark a dramatic and provocative expansion of Kyiv’s theater of war against Moscow. Aside from a string of Ukrainian drone attacks that hit deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive has been focused on the country’s occupied east and south. A high-level Sudanese military source said he had “no knowledge of a Ukrainian operation in Sudan” and did not believe it was true. What appears to be a DJI MAVIC 3 drone can be seen in the videos filming the drone strikes. Six drone strikes targeted pickup trucks driving on Shambat bridge.

Persons: Wagner, Sudan ”, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo –, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Wim Zwijnenburg, ” Zwijnenburg, Zwijnenburg, Hemedti, Gen, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner’s, General Khalifa, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Andrey Averyanov, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba Organizations: Chad CNN, CNN, Sudanese, Kyiv, Rapid Support Forces, Ukrainian, Central African, PAX, AK, CAR, PMC Wagner, Reuters Analysts, Kremlin, Agence France, Presse Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, N'Djamena, Chad, Ukrainian, Sudan’s, Russian, Sudan, Moscow, Omdurman, Khartoum, balaclava, British, al, Zurug, Russia, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic, Libya, Ombada, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Latakia, Bangui, “, Syria, Burkina Faso, St . Petersburg, Eritrea

☆ Darfur: Hundreds of people fleeing El Geneina were killed in a day-long massacre, body collectors and survivors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi Allegra Goodwin Nima Elbagir Celine Alkhaldi | Tamara Qiblawi | Allegra Goodwin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

A picture taken on June 16, 2023, shows bodies strewn outdoors near houses in the West Darfur capital El Geneina. A video shared on Twitter on June 14, 2023, showing hundreds of refugees from El Geneina walking towards Chad. “The fighters had DShK’s (Soviet-era heavy machine guns) and other heavy weaponry,” said Khamiss, the lawyer from El Geneina. Zahra Adam, a women’s rights activist from El Geneina, told CNN she had saved two young boys from drowning. When asked whether the ICRC had alerted third parties to evidence of a mass atrocity in El Geneina, Synenko said they had not.

Persons: El Geneina, ”, “, Masalit, Jamal Khamiss, Khamiss, ” Jamal Khamiss Khamiss, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo —, Gen, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hemedti, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Omar al, Bashir, Wagner, Zohra Bensemra, Dr, Papi Maloba, Maloba, Mohammad Ghannam, RSF, West, Khamis Abbakar, ” Khamiss, Zahra Adam, Adam, General Abdelrahman Juma —, General Abdelrahman Juma, YouTube Juma, Mujeeb Rahman Muhammad Rezk, Alyona Synenko, Synenko, Chad The, ” Zahwi Idriss, Zahwi Idriss Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, West Darfur, Getty, Sudanese, International Organization for Migration, Twitter, Hemedti, United Nations, Reuters, Sans, MSF, Chadian, El, Teaching, Crescent, YouTube, Support Forces, Sudanese Red Crescent Society, SRC, International Committee, ICRC, Darfur, UN, Geneina Teaching Locations: West Darfur, El, West, El Geneina, AFP, Chad, Sudan, “, Geneina, Darfur, Chadian, Shukri, Khartoum, Adre, Ardmata, Wadi Kaja, RSF, tarpaulins, Africa, ”

☆ Sudan: Testimonies detail atrocities by Wagner-backed militia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nima Elbagir Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis Gianluca Mezzofiore Pallabi Munsi Ingrid Formanek Saskya Vandoorne | Nima Elbagir | Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

“I sat next to her in the car,” said Butheina Nourin, describing her perilous escape from Sudan’s Darfur region alongside the dead woman. A months-long CNN investigation uncovered an increase in Wagner supplies to the RSF that began in the run-up to Sudan’s conflict. Reports of atrocities committed by RSF fighters and their allied militias, clearly identified by their uniforms, are consistent across dozens of testimonies. Then-President Bashir was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2010 with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in relation to the Darfur conflict. “Nobody in Sudan has more blood on their hands than Hemedti,” said Sudan analyst Eric Reeves.

Persons: wailed, “, ”, Butheina Nourin, Fatima, I, Nourin, Zohra Bensemra, Abdul Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner, General Burhan, entrenching, –, Omar al, Bashir, Hemedti, Sergey Lavrov, Hussein Haran, ” Haran, Khamis Abbakar, Kholood Khair, ” Khair, Gen, Mahmoud Hjaj, Hala, SIHA, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalos, Hussein Malla, ” “, Gueipeur Denis Sassou, Eric Reeves, Al Jazeera, Karib, “ It’s, RSF –, Wagner –, Yeveny Prigozhin, Sudan ”, Hussein Organizations: CNN, ” Fighters, Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Central African, Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, UN, Strategic Initiative, Women, International Criminal Court, ICC, United Arab, United Nations, SIHA, Getty, European, US State Department, State Department Locations: Chad, Sudan, Sudan’s Darfur, Darfur, Borota, Latakia, Libya, Bangui, Central African Republic, Moscow, Ukraine, Khartoum, el, Geneina, Horn of Africa, State, Sudan’s, Yemen, Saudi, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Daman, AFP, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Europe, EU, ”, Africa

☆ Erdogan seeks new term in Turkey runoff election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Polls have opened in Turkey’s presidential runoff as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fights for a historic third term on Sunday. Erdogan is going head-to-head with opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old bureaucrat and leader of the left-leaning CHP. In the first round of voting on May 14, Erdogan secured a nearly five-point lead over Kilicdaroglu but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to win. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey May 15, 2023. Umit Bektas/ReutersSix opposition groups had formed an unprecedented unified bloc behind Kilicdaroglu to try to wrest power from Erdogan.

We are not bound by the West’s sanctions,” Erdogan told CNN’s Becky Anderson. APBy contrast, Erdogan has doubled down on his relationship with Putin – and he thinks the West should follow suit. “This was possible because of our special relationship with President Putin,” he told CNN, referring to the grain deal. In his interview with CNN, Erdogan tackled another key flashpoint in Turkish tensions with the West: Sweden’s accession to NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells CNN's Becky Anderson, left, he expects voters who value stability and confidence to back him in the May 28 runoff vote.

Istanbul, Turkey CNN —Turkey will have a runoff election on May 28 after longtime leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced into a second round with only a narrow lead over his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Neither candidate achieved the required 50% to take the presidency outright, but Kilicdaroglu now faces a tough battle to win the second round after Erdogan performed better than some opinion polls had suggested. With the final count, the electorate will turn to a second round of voting that could extend Erdogan’s 20-year grip on power, or set the stage for a change in political direction. “If our nation says second round, we gladly accept it. We will absolutely win this election in the second round.

☆ Turkey’s opposition faces an uphill battle in runoff with Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Istanbul CNN —A hushed silence fell over the crowd outside the Istanbul headquarters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) party. Sullen faces turned to the election count on the large screen — Erdogan’s vote had dropped below the 50% threshold needed to clinch the first round of Sunday’s historic election. Erdogan secured a five-point lead over his principal opponent, destining them to a run-off vote. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan meet supporters outside a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey May 14, 2023. Then our President Erdogan saves us.”Ahead of the run-off vote, Erdogan now has two weeks in which to save himself – and all the indications are that he begins, as ever, from a place of strength.

His main opponent is CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who represents an election coalition of six opposition parties. For the first time, Turkey’s factious opposition has coalesced around a single candidate. When a vicious earthquake on February 6 laid waste to large parts of southeast Turkey, Erdogan’s battled political aftershocks. More than 1.8 million voters living abroad already cast their votes on April 17, Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported Wednesday, citing the country’s deputy foreign minister. The Supreme Election Council (YSK) chief Ahmet Yener said last month that at least 1 million voters in quake-stricken zones are expected not to vote this year amid displacement.

☆ Exclusive: Evidence emerges of Russia’s Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan’s army
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis | Nima Elbagir | Gianluca Mezzofiore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army, Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources have told CNN. Haftar has backed the RSF, sources say, although he denies taking sides. That day, Russia airdropped surface-to-air missiles to Dagalo’s militia positions in northwest Sudan, according to regional and Sudanese sources. For years, Dagalo has been a key beneficiary from Russian involvement in Sudan, as the primary recipient of Moscow’s weapons and training. Egypt has a long-standing relationship with Burhan and has privately backed him in the power struggle, according to Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources.

CNN —Fierce fighting across Sudan has left hopes for a peaceful transition to civilian rule in tatters. An international outcry saw Bashir formalize the group into paramilitary forces known as the Border Intelligence Units. They commanded separate battalions of Sudanese forces, who were sent to serve with the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen. He said that RSF leader Dagalo had “mutinied” against the state, and if captured, would be tried in court of law. CNN has previously reported on how Russia has colluded with Sudan’s military leaders to smuggle gold out of Sudan.

☆ Xi Jinping: Saudi's MBS rolls out the red carpet for China's president, in a not too subtle message to Biden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Saudi leaders will infuse the trip with a dose of spectacle. The Saudi king – or his powerful Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman – may bestow the Chinese leader with some honors and medals. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fist bumps US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15. Today, the US consumes only a fraction of that Saudi oil, and China is Saudi Arabia’s biggest client and trading partner. Over the last year, Gulf Arab countries appear to have ramped up their independent-minded policy.

Rumors of a Chinese presidential visit to the US’ largest Middle East ally have been circulating for months, but are yet to be confirmed by the governments of Saudi Arabia and China. Beijing has not made an official announcement that Xi will visit Saudi Arabia. A strong US ally for eight long decades, Saudi Arabia has become bitter over what it perceives to be waning US security presence in the region, especially amid growing threats from Iran and its armed Yemeni proxies. Both China and Saudi Arabia have also taken different stances to the West with regards to the Ukraine war. Biden said in October that the US has to “rethink” its relationship with Saudi Arabia, which the President had seemingly tried to repair in a July visit to Riyadh.

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