August 12 In South Africa, fighting breaks out between the Xhosa people and the Zulu people; more than 500 people are killed by the end of August. "Sue", the best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found, is discovered near Faith, South Dakota by Sue Hendrickson. August 19 – Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. August 21 – Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone send peacekeepers to intervene in the First Liberian Civil War. August 22 – U.S. President Bush calls up U.S. military reservists for service in the Persian Gulf Crisis. August 23 – East Germany and West Germany announce they will unite on October 3. August 24 The Armenian SSR declares its independence from the Soviet Union. Northern Ireland writer Brian Keenan is released from Lebanon after being held hostage for nearly 5 years. Indonesian commercial television network SCTV was established as the nation's third television station after RCTI, and also debuted as local television channel in Surabaya. During its earlier days, SCTV was the rival for RCTI, the first commercial television network. SCTV began broadcasting nationwide from Jakarta by January 29, 1991. August 26 – In Sofia, protesters set fire to the headquarters of the governing Bulgarian Socialist Party. August 28 – The Plainfield Tornado (F5 on the Fujita scale) strikes the towns of Plainfield, Crest Hill, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 29 people (the strongest tornado to date to strike the Chicago metropolitan area). September September 1–10 – Pope John Paul II visits Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Ivory Coast. September 2 – Cold War: Transnistria declares its independence from the Moldavian SSR; however, the declaration is not recognized by any government. September 4 – Geoffrey Palmer resigns as Prime Minister of New Zealand and is replaced by Mike Moore. September 4–6 – Premier of North Korea Yon Hyong-muk meets with President of South Korea Roh Tae-woo, the highest level contact between leaders of the two Koreas since 1945. September 5 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Army soldiers massacre 158 civilians. September 6 – In Myanmar, the State Law and Order Restoration Council orders the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and five other political dissidents. September 9 U.S. President Bush and Soviet President Gorbachev meet in Helsinki to discuss the Persian Gulf crisis. First Liberian Civil War: Liberian president Samuel Doe