52 killed, dozens injured as violence flares in region disputed by Sudan, South Sudan

KHARTOUM: At least 52 people were killed and 64 people were left wounded in attacks in a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.

It reported that 52 people, including women and children, died in the Abyei region during the weekend.

Bulis Koch, the information minister for Abyei (disputed region) said that the armed youth from South Sudan’s Warrap state carried out raids into neighbouring Abyei on Saturday.

Armed youth from rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group have been battling over the location of an administrative boundary in the oil-rich region, claimed by both countries, according to media reports.

A Ghanaian peacekeeper from the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) was killed when its base in Agok town was attacked amid the violence, the UN force said on Sunday.

“Because of the current dire security situation at hand, which has created fears and panic, we have imposed a curfew,” Koch said.

Tensions have soared amid recent clashes in Abyei between rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group related to the location of an administrative boundary that is a source of significant tax revenues.

Koch said Dinka youth from Warrap and the forces of a rebel leader from the Nuer ethnic group carried out the attacks against Dinkas and Nuers in Abyei. Hundreds of civilians are now sheltering at a UNISFA base, Al Jazeera reported

William Wol, Warrap state’s information minister, said his government would coordinate a joint investigation with the Abyei administration to look into the deadly incident.