UN peacekeepers have stepped up patrols in the troubled Sudanese region of Abyei where dozens have been reported dead in clashes between rival tribes around a controversial referendum, a UN spokesman said.
"We are extremely concerned about reported clashes around Abyei and the resulting casualties," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.
The rival Misseriya Arab and Ngok Dinka peoples of the disputed territory have reported at least 33 dead in the past three days.
Nesirky said the UN mission in Sudan, UNMIS, "is in the process of confirming these numbers and in the meantime the mission is pursuing the containment of the situation both politically and on the ground by enhancing patrols and engaging with the top leadership" of the rival groups.
Tensions in the district on the border between north and south Sudan have been rising with the launch of a landmark independence referendum in the south.
Abyei had been due to hold a simultaneous vote on its future, but this has been indefinitely postponed amid deadlock between northern and southern leaders over who should be eligible to take part.
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