Peacekeeper troops from Ethiopia and deployed in the United Nations (UN) Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) patrol at night in Abyei town, Abyei state, on December 14, 2016. The Abyei Administrative Area is a disputed territory between Sudan and South Sudan with a longstanding intercommunal tensions between the Ngok-Dinka ethnic majority and the pastoral Misseriya population, who migrate through the area seasonally from the north. An attack by Government of Sudan forces on Abyei in May 2011 displaced the majority of the Ngok Dinka population, approximately 105,000 people to areas south of the River Kiir, which became overcrowded and are suffering a huge competition over natural (AFP / Albert Gonzalez Farran)

The United Nations^[1] says one peacekeeper and five civilians have been killed in an attack on peacekeepers on a routine patrol in a market in a disputed region on the border of Sudan^[2] and South Sudan.

READ MORE: 2 Sudanese opposition leaders arrested amid standoff with military council ^[3]

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq says a second peacekeeper was wounded by gunfire in Tuesday’s attack by a group of unknown men in Abyei. The slain peacekeeper was from Ethiopia.

The U.N. says the peacekeeping mission in Abyei has deployed troops to enhance security and determine the circumstances behind the attack. The mission’s acting commander calls it unprovoked.

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Both Sudan and South Sudan claim ownership of the oil-rich Abyei area.

References

1. ^{^} United Nations (globalnews.ca)
2. ^{^} Sudan (globalnews.ca)
3. ^{^} 2 Sudanese opposition leaders arrested amid standoff with military council (globalnews.ca)