Title: 32 Killed in Fighting Over Disputed Area in South Sudan

A local official reported on Monday that at least 32 people were killed in attacks by rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group over the weekend in an area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. Violent clashes are common in the oil-rich Abyei region, where the Twic Dinka tribe from the neighboring Warrap State in South Sudan is embroiled in a dispute with the Ngok Dinka tribe from Abyei over the boundary location. Paul Kuoch, the information minister for the Abyei administrative area, told Reuters that armed youths from the Twic Dinka tribe, supported by a local militia, attacked several villages of the Ngok Dinka tribe in the northeastern part of the town of Abyei on Sunday morning. Kuoch noted that men in South Sudanese army uniforms, backed by fighters from the Twic Dinka, also attacked residential gatherings of the Ngok Dinka. The spokespersons for the South Sudanese army did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. Both Sudan and South Sudan have claimed sovereignty over the Abyei region since South Sudan's independence in 2011. Abyei has a special administrative status, governed by an administration composed of officials appointed by Juba and Khartoum. South Sudan descended into civil war shortly after its independence, placing President Salva Kiir and his allies in conflict with Vice President Riek Machar. The peace agreement signed three years ago remains largely intact, but the transitional government has been slow in unifying the different factions within the army.