Combating between rival communities in a disputed area claimed by each Sudan and South Sudan has killed 54 folks, together with two UN peacekeepers, the United Nations mentioned on Monday, calling for calm.
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The clashes in Abyei, a contested oil-rich territory straddling the border of each international locations, broke out on the weekend, in keeping with native authorities.
The United Nations Interim Safety Pressure for Abyei (UNISFA) mentioned it “strongly condemns these assaults towards civilians and peacekeepers”.
“At the moment, in keeping with native authorities, 52 civilians have misplaced their lives, whereas 64 others are mentioned to be gravely wounded,” it mentioned.
It mentioned peacekeepers got here below hearth on Sunday “whereas transporting affected civilians from a UNISFA base to a hospital”.
A Pakistani peacekeeper was killed, and “4 uniformed personnel and one native civilian sustained harm”, it mentioned.
A Ghanaian peacekeeper had been killed on Saturday, UNISFA added, calling for an investigation into the violence.
Situated between Sudan and South Sudan, Abyei has been a flashpoint for the reason that South gained independence in 2011.
In accordance with authorities within the Abyei Particular Administrative Space, armed youths and an area insurgent militia carried out a sequence of “barbaric coordinated assaults”, beginning on Saturday morning.
Greater than 7 million displaced by Sudan preventing as secure zones shrink
Fragile area
Rou Manyiel Rou, secretary normal for the Abyei Particular Administrative Space, mentioned on Saturday that the violence was tied to a long-running “battle between (the) Ngok and Twic” communities.
In a press release revealed on Monday, Britain, Norway and the USA, the worldwide “Troika” that sponsored South Sudan’s independence, mentioned they have been “deeply involved by the escalation of violence in current months between communities residing in and round” Abyei.
“All leaders who’ve affect with concerned communities and who fail to make use of it to assist peace are demonstrating their disregard for the pursuits of their folks,” the Troika mentioned.
The assaults observe clashes in November final 12 months that killed 32 folks, together with a UN peacekeeper.
A regional UN envoy expressed concern in November that preventing inside Sudan was drawing nearer to the nation’s border with South Sudan and Abyei.
Hanna Tetteh, the UN particular envoy for the Horn of Africa, mentioned Abyei’s proximity to the preventing between Sudan’s rival forces threatened to destabilise the already fragile area and its generally risky native dynamics.
She mentioned the Sudan disaster had additionally “successfully placed on maintain” talks between leaders from each international locations over Abyei’s long-disputed standing.
The 12-year-old UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei at present contains some 4,000 navy and police personnel.
(AFP)