More than 50 people – including two UN peacekeepers – have been killed in heavy fighting along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, officials say.
Armed men from South Sudan’s Warrap State carried out raids in the neighbouring Abyei region on Saturday, Abyei information minister Bulis Koch was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
The motive for the attack is unclear, but the Associated Press news agency reported that the fighting was linked to a land conflict between members of the Twic Dinka and Ngok Dinka ethnic groups.
Both South Sudan and Sudan claim ownership of Abyei, in a dispute that has remained unresolved since the former gained its independence in 2011.
The UN force in the region, known by the acronym Unisfa, said that a Ghanaian peacekeeper was killed on Saturday after their base came under attack.
A Pakistani peacekeeper was killed on Sunday when UN troops came under heavy fire while transporting wounded civilians to hospital, it added.
The UN quoted local authorities as saying that 52 civilians had lost their lives and 64 others were seriously wounded in the fighting.
Source:Fiilafmonline/BBC
