ALBAWABA - Authorities in the disputed region of Abyei, South of Sudan said that 32 people have been killed, including a member of the UN peacekeeping force in an anonymous shooting attack.
An unknown gunman attacked two villages in the southern part of the Abyei administrative region, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan killing 31 civilians and 1 Ghanaian soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping force.
Since South Sudan deployed its troops to the disputed territory, intense clashes have sparked cross-borders. The peacekeeping mission there condemned the troop deployment, saying it would create "untold suffering and humanitarian concerns" for civilians, Arab News reported.
Eye Radio Juba, a South Sudanese radio station, cited Abyei information minister Bolis Kuoch as saying 32 people were killed and 20 others wounded, "but the clashes have now stopped and the situation calmed down".
The Security Council unanimously renewed UNIFSA's mandate until November 15, 2024, last week. Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, the United Nations Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, warned earlier this month that the "unprecedented" 7-month war between Sudan's army and a rival paramilitary force Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was drawing closer to South Sudan and the Abyei region.
Since the war erupted in mid-April earlier this year, more than 9,000 people have been killed, including thousands of children. Millions of people have been displaced within Sudan and out to neighboring countries.
Since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan after a 2005 peace deal ended decades of civil war between Sudan’s north and south, Sudan and South Sudan have disagreed over control of the oil-rich Abyei region.
