International Desk: 54 people, including women and children, have been killed in fierce violence on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. Among the dead are two UN officials.
The violence and loss of life occurred in the disputed Abe region between the two countries. News from Arab News, the BBC, and Al Jazeera.
Dozens of people have reportedly been killed in attacks and violence in a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, reports said.
In total, 54 people, including women and children, died in the Abe region last weekend, local officials said on Monday.
Both Sudan and South Sudan have been claiming ownership of the oil-rich region along their shared border.
Abyei’s Minister of Information, Bullis Koch, said armed youths from South Sudan’s Warap state attacked neighboring Abyei last Saturday.
Such attacks have been ongoing since 2021 in a border dispute, and the latest attack was the deadliest. In addition to those killed in the attack, 64 others were injured.
In addition, UN peacekeepers have also been killed in violence in South Sudan. The killed peacekeepers are members of the Ghanaian army. This incident happened last Saturday in three places in the Abe area. This resulted in many casualties and the evacuation of civilians to protect those caught up in the violence.
Sudan’s Information Minister, Bullis Koch, said, “The current dire security situation has created widespread fear and panic, and we have imposed a curfew.”
Inter-communal conflict is a common occurrence in South Sudan. However, it is not known for sure which tribe was involved in Saturday’s clash. In addition, the oil-rich Abe region is also prone to violence. There, rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group are in conflict with each other over the location of administrative boundaries.
Koch said Dinka youths from Warap and the forces of a rebel leader from the Nuer ethnic group launched an attack against Dinkas and Nuers in Abey. After the violence, hundreds of civilians have taken refuge in army bases.
