A series of attacks on Sunday in the oil-rich Abyei region, disputed between Sudan and South Sudan, resulted in the deaths of 32 people, including women, children, and an international soldier, according to local officials and the French Press Agency.
A government official in the Abyei region, at the border between the two countries, condemned these attacks, which occurred in two areas and were carried out by armed militias and soldiers wearing South Sudanese army uniforms.
Paulis Kosh Iguar Ejit, Minister of Information in Abyei and spokesperson for the South Sudanese authorities in the region, stated in a Sunday evening release, “During these attacks, 32 people were killed, including children and women who were burnt in their huts, while more than 20 people were injured.”
He added, “A soldier in the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei was also killed,” without providing further details.
In a statement published on Monday, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway (the Troika), which sponsored South Sudan’s independence in 2011, called for “calm and restraint.” They urged “all who can influence local groups to take all appropriate measures to prevent a new escalation and exert pressure to end the violence.”
The Abyei region, situated between Sudan and South Sudan, has been a point of tension since South Sudan’s independence in 2011. Earlier this month, the UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Tetteh, expressed concern about the ongoing battles in Sudan nearing the borders of South Sudan and Abyei, further destabilizing an already fragile situation.
The ongoing war in Sudan has “suspended” negotiations between the two countries regarding this long-disputed region. The war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which started on April 15th, has resulted in more than 10,000 deaths, according to a conservative estimate by the organization ACLED.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed this month to extend the mandate of the international force in Abyei, which has been deployed for 12 years and currently consists of 4,000 personnel.
