Bodies of UN peacekeepers killed in Abyei flown home

The bodies of two UN peacekeepers killed in the disputed region of Abyei along South Sudan's border with Sudan have been flown back home.

The Ghanaian and Pakistani peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa) were killed in separate incidents following recent intercommunal clashes, according to the UN.

On Saturday, 52 people were killed including the Ghanaian peacekeeper when armed youth launched attacks in different parts of Abyei. The UN said another 64 people were seriously wounded in the process.

Later on Sunday, a convoy transporting some of those injured in Saturday's attack was ambushed killing the Pakistani peacekeeper.

A ceremony attended by the leaders of the nine chiefdoms of Abyei was in held in honour of the two before their bodies were flown home.

Unisfa said it condemned the attacks on their peacekeepers and that this could constitute a war crime under international law.

There have been continued clashes between local communities in Abyei over land and resources with fears that the ongoing war in Sudan could spill into the region.

A local resident told the BBC that there is tension following recent clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Babanusa, a town 260km (160 miles) north of Abyei.

He added that should either of the warring sides in Sudan advance to Abyei, they might clash with the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces personnel who have set camp in parts of the region.

Both Sudan and South Sudan have claimed the oil-rich Abyei but agreed on temporary administrative arrangements in a 2011 deal.

However, the two sides have been accused by human rights activists of going against the agreement.

Abyei currently remains under the protection of UN peacekeeping troops.