Deadly clashes ahead of Sudan vote

At least 7 people feared dead in unrest involving south Sudan security forces in the run-up to referendum on secession.

At least seven people have been killed in clashes involving south Sudan security forces in the run-up to the referendum in which southerners are to vote on whether to split from the north.

Six people were killed in fighting between south Sudan’s army and a pro-Khartoum militia in Unity state and another person died in clashes between the Misseriya tribe and police in the disputed Abyei region.

Earlier reports on Saturday had said 19 people had been killed in Abyei, the border region which is claimed by both the north and the south, but Al Jazeera could only confirm one of the deaths.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Vall, reporting from Muglad, cited a spokesman for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) which governs the south, as saying the unrest in Abyei had started on Friday and involved the Misseriya tribe, which is loyal to the Khartoum government.

Read the rest at Al-Jazeera.

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