Briefly

SOUTH SUDAN

Military vows to retaliate against rebel group

South Sudan's military said on Monday it will retaliate against attacks by militia group, the National Salvation Front, or NAS, led by renegade general Thomas Cirilo which previously opted out of a 2018 revitalized peace deal. Lul Ruai Koang, military spokesperson warned that they are ready to retaliate against the NAS in case of continued attacks on their positions and on civilians. Koang said in a statement: "The South Sudan People's Defense Force reaffirms commitment to the Rome declaration, but reserves the right to respond with deadly force in self-defense and that of civilians and their properties". The NAS refused to sign the revitalized peace deal to end the more than five years of conflict, since the outbreak in December 2013, as it called for renegotiation of the peace pact to include a federal system of governance. This came following last week's deadly ambush by the rebel group on the convoy of James Wani Igga, second vice-president, which left six of his bodyguards dead. The NAS, a rebel group fighting against the government in Central and Western Equatoria State, recently claimed responsibility for the attack that took place at Lobonok.

SOUTH KOREA

Most Seoul schools shut to curb spread

South Korea on Tuesday ordered most schools in Seoul and surrounding areas to close and moved classes back online, the latest in a series of precautionary measures aimed at heading off a resurgence in coronavirus cases. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 280 new coronavirus cases as of midnight Monday, taking the country's total to 17,945 with 310 deaths. With most of the new cases centered in the densely populated capital area, however, health authorities said the country is on the brink of a nationwide outbreak and have called on people to stay home and limit travel. All students, except for high school seniors, in the cities of Seoul and Incheon and the province of Geonggi, will take classes online until Sept 11, the ministry of education said on Tuesday.

TURKEY

IS suspect detained for terror attack plans

Turkish police detained in Istanbul a suspected Islamic State member who planned to carry out a terror attack, the broadcaster NTV reported on Tuesday. During the operation at the address of the suspect, police also seized a long-barreled Kalashnikov gun, five pistol magazines and 150 cartridges, NTV said on its website. The suspect arrived in Istanbul, the biggest city in Turkey, from the southeastern province of Gaziantep to conduct an attack on behalf of IS, NTV added, without giving further details. Counterterrorism units have recently intensified their operations against IS members in Turkey. Earlier in August, a suspected member of the terror group was arrested in the northwestern province of Bursa for planning a suicide bombing, while six Iraqi nationals were detained in the northern province of Samsun over their suspected links to IS. The group has been blamed for a spate of deadly attacks over the years in Turkey, in which more than 300 people have been killed.

Agencies - Xinhua