At least 20 die in Sudan shootout in border area

Khartoum: Sudan and the UN say a shootout in a disputed oil-rich border region has left at least 20 people dead, including at least one Ethiopian UN peacekeeper and a tribal chief traveling with them.

Khartoum`s Interior Ministry in a statement carried by Sudan`s media yesterday said 21 were killed in Abyei district, including Koul Deng Majok , an ethnic Ngok Dinka from neighbouring South Sudan, two peacekeepers, and 17 members of the Misseriya tribe. It said Majok`s tribe had failed to inform Misseriya tribesmen they would be visiting the area. The UN said earlier that Majok and one peacekeeper were killed in the Saturday incident that apparently pitted Dinka farmers against Misseriya herders. Abyei is a sticking point between Sudan and South Sudan. PTI