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Ukraine calls for return of ‘abducted’ children as more arrive in Belarus

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Ukraine calls for return of ‘abducted’ children as more arrive in Belarus

Ukraine says more than 19,000 children have been taken illegally by Russia since it began its full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska has called on world leaders to help ensure the return of thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken by Russia as Belarusian state media published photos of dozens of Ukrainian children arriving in Belarus from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Zelenska said more than 19,000 Ukrainian children had been forcibly transferred or deported to Russia or the territories it has occupied.

So far, only 386 have been brought home.

In Russia, “they were told that their parents don’t need them, that their country doesn’t need them, that nobody is waiting for them,” Zelenska said.

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“The abducted children were told that they are no longer Ukrainian children, that they are Russian children.”

Her call came as Belta, Belarus’s state-run news agency, reported 48 children from the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions arrived in the country, a close Russian ally, for a “three week holiday” on Tuesday. The children were shown getting off a train carrying backpacks and suitcases, mostly looking solemn.

Belta said the initiative was organised by a Belarusian charity backed by President Alexander Lukashenko, who has previously called the state-funded removals a “recuperation” programme.

“The president, despite external pressure, said this important humanitarian project should continue,” Alexei Talai, the charity’s head, was quoted as saying by the news agency. “All the Belarusian people,” he said, want to help “children from dilapidated cities and towns in the new territories of Russia.”

‘Clearly a genocide’

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova. The judges in The Hague said they found “reasonable grounds to believe” the two were responsible for war crimes, including the illegal deportation and transfer of children from occupied parts of Ukraine to Russia.

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In June, Belarusian opposition figures gave the ICC materials, which they said showed more than 2,100 Ukrainian children from at least 15 Russian-occupied Ukrainian cities had been forcibly transferred to Belarus with Lukashenko’s approval.

Ukraine says the children are being indoctrinated and deprived of their national identity, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a genocide in his speech to the UNGA on Tuesday.

“Those children in Russia are taught to hate Ukraine, and all ties with their families are broken,” Zelenskyy told the General Assembly. “This is clearly a genocide.”

Russia denies the allegations, saying instead it has saved Ukrainian children from the horrors of the war.

More than 500 children have been killed in Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale invasion of its neighbour some 19 months ago, and hundreds of others have been injured.

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Ukrainian authorities are also investigating more than 230 cases of sexual violence by Russian soldiers against civilians, including 13 children, according to Zelenska. She said the child victims include 12 girls and one boy, with the youngest victim only four years old at the time of the alleged crime.

“I am turning to the UN secretary-general and the entire organisation to help us save Ukrainian children,” Zelenska pleaded.

“Help us receive information on the children taken to Russia… Help us take children out of occupied territories through special safe corridors. Our children need justice.”

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Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku burned on face, arm in home accident while lighting fire pit

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Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku burned on face, arm in home accident while lighting fire pit

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku suffered burns to his face and arm in an accident at home while lighting a fire pit.

Njoku was added to the injury report on Saturday and listed as questionable for Sunday’s home game against the Baltimore Ravens.

It’s not immediately known when the accident took place or the severity of Njoku’s injuries. However, his agent Malki Kawa, posted on social media that the 27-year-old tight end “is OK.” Kawa thanked “everyone for reaching out.”

Njoku, who is in his seventh season with Cleveland, has 10 catches for 92 yards this season. He’s a solid blocker and coach Kevin Stefanski noted that Njoku has been a major contributor on several big plays through three games.

Njoku’s injury further complicates things for the Browns (2-1), who could be without starting quarterback Deshaun Watson against the Ravens. Watson was limited in practice this week with a shoulder injury and is also questionable.

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If Watson can’t play, rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round pick from UCLA, will make his first NFL start. Thompson-Robinson, who had a strong training camp and preseason, took the majority of snaps with Cleveland’s starting offense this week.

The Browns elevated tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden from the practice squad in case Njoku is inactive.

Quarterback P.J. Walker was also brought up from the practice squad as insurance for Watson’s situation.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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Russian Paralympians cannot use flag at Paris games

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Russian Paralympians cannot use flag at Paris games

Russian athletes competing at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris will not be allowed to use their nation’s flag. 

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted Friday on the eligibility of Russian athletes, allowing individuals to compete under neutral banners. 

Russia has been banned from the Olympic and Paralympic communities since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

The specific parameters for athletes from Russian ally Belarus are also yet to be decided. 

RUSSIA, BELARUS NOT OFFICIALLY INVITED TO 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS, IOC SAYS

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Paris Olympics 2024 logo on the one of the official t-shirts on display in a shop at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, France.  (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The IPC voted Friday not to fully ban Belorussian athletes but has not yet decided if they can compete representing their country.

The Russian Olympic Committee is not boycotting the Paris games and has voiced support for athletes wishing to compete as neutral individuals.

INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE OVERTURNS SUSPENSION OF RUSSIA, BELARUS MEMBERSHIPS, ATHLETES STILL BARRED

IPC President Andrew Parsons

Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee speaks during the Opening Ceremony on day one of the Para Athletics World Championship Paris 2023 at Stade Charlety in Paris, France.  ((Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images))

“Boycotting the Games leads to nowhere,” said Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov, according to The Moscow Times.

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He added, “We live together in a free state. Every person can, if they so wish, take the path.”

International bodies have struggled to accommodate Russian and Belorussian athletes’ participation in the games since their ban was imposed.

Olympic and Paralympic Mascots Paris

This photograph shows the Olympic Phryges mascots on the Alexandre III bridge ahead of the 2023 World Para Triathlon – duathlon format Olympic Games Test Event in Paris. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

In anticipation of the Olympic and Paralympic games, the Ukrainian government loosened restrictions on participating in sporting events with Russian athletes.

In a July decision, the Ukrainian government said it would be narrowing the focus of its ban on sports matches against Russian competitors.

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Moving forward, Ukrainian athletes will be allowed to compete against Russian athletes not representing their home country.

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More than 80 percent of ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh

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More than 80 percent of ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh

An ethnic Armenian exodus has nearly emptied Nagorno-Karabakh of residents since Azerbaijan attacked and ordered the breakaway region’s fighter groups to disarm, the Armenian government has said.

Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the press secretary to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said on Saturday that 100,417 people had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a population of approximately 120,000 before Azerbaijan reclaimed the region in a lightning offensive last week.

A total of 21,043 vehicles have crossed the Hakari Bridge, which links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, since last week, Baghdasaryan said. Some lined up for days because the winding mountain road that is the only route to Armenia became jammed.

“The speed of it has caught everyone, including the Armenian authorities and the UN by surprise,” said Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith.

The departure of more than 80 percent of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population raises questions about Azerbaijan’s plans for the enclave that was internationally recognised as part of its territory.

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“[In Nagorno-Karabakh] we’re seeing scenes of eerie silence, empty streets, empty shops, and vacant homes,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Horadiz. “Just a fraction of the population remains in this enclave where people have been assured that they will not be persecuted by Azerbaijani forces as they take control of these areas.”

The region’s separatist ethnic Armenian government said Thursday it would dissolve itself by the end of the year after a three-decade bid for independence.

‘Ethnic cleansing’

Pashinyan has alleged the ethnic Armenian exodus amounted to “a direct act of an ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland”.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejected the characterisation, saying the mass migration by the region’s residents was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation”.

However, Luis Moreno Ocampo, a former ICC chief prosecutor, told Al Jazeera that it is “obvious” what is happening is ethnic cleansing, saying that “the legal description is called genocide.”

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“It’s an excuse that the Azerbaijan government saying, ‘oh, [leaving] was voluntary’ after they were bombing them and were starving them to death for months,” Ocampo said.

Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit next to their belongings near a tent camp after arriving at Armenia’s Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 [Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo]

During three decades of conflict in the region, Azerbaijan and the separatists backed by Armenia have accused each other of targeted attacks, massacres and other atrocities, leaving people on both sides deeply suspicious and fearful.

While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, most are fleeing because they do not trust Azerbaijani authorities to treat them humanely or guarantee their language, religion and culture.

“None of the people we’ve spoken to have confidence in the Azerbaijan government’s claim that their security would be guaranteed if they decided to stay,” said Smith, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Yerevan.

“They’re frightened because they fear, despite Azerbaijan’s assurances, they fear they will be treated as the losers and the Azerbaijanis will come in as the victors,” he said.

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The office of Italy’s prime minister said on Saturday that Armenia has asked the European Union for assistance to help it deal with refugees arriving from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Years of fighting

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence said later on Saturday that one of its servicemen was killed by sniper fire from Armenian forces in the border district of Kalbajar, but the alleged incident was swiftly refuted by Armenia.

Interfax news agency cited the Armenian Ministry of Defence as saying the report was incorrect, without giving further details.

After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Then, during a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of the region in the South Caucasus Mountains along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had claimed earlier.

In December, Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, accusing the Armenian government of using it for illicit weapons shipments to the region’s separatist forces.

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Weakened by the blockade and with Armenia’s leadership distancing itself from the conflict, ethnic Armenian forces in the region agreed to lay down arms less than 24 hours after Azerbaijan began its offensive. Talks have begun between officials in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist authorities on “reintegrating” the region into Azerbaijan.

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