Clashes in disputed oil-rich African region kill dozens

The motive for the attack on Saturday evening was not immediately clear but it was suspected to revolve around a land dispute, Abyei information minister Bulis Koch told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Abyei.

Deadly ethnic violence has been common in the region, where Twic Dinka tribal members from neighbouring Warrap State are locked in a land dispute with Ngok Dinka from Abyei over the Aneet area, located at the border.

The attackers in Saturday's violence were armed youth from the Nuer tribe who migrated to Warrap state last year because of flooding in their areas, Koch said.

In a statement, the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) condemned the violence that killed the peacekeeper.

UNIFSA confirmed intercommunal clashes took place in the Nyinkuac, Majbong and Khadian areas leading to casualties and the evacuation of civilians to UNISFA bases.

"The UNISFA base in Agok came under attack by an armed group," the statement said.

"The mission repelled the attack, but tragically a Ghanaian peacekeeper was killed."

Sudan and South Sudan have disagreed over control of the Abyei region since a 2005 peace deal ended decades of civil war between Sudan's north and south.

Both Sudan and South Sudan claim ownership of Abyei, whose status was unresolved after South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011.

The region's majority Ngok Dinka people favour South Sudan, while the Misseriya nomads who come to Abyei to find pasture for their cattle favour Sudan.

The region is currently under the control of South Sudan.

An African Union panel proposed a referendum for Abyei but there was disagreement over who could vote.

Inter-communal and cross-border clashes have escalated since South Sudan deployed its troops to Abyei in March.

Australian Associated Press