Juba, Mar 7 (AP) A local official says at least 27 people were killed and four others wounded in an attack in the Abyei region that's disputed between South Sudan and Sudan.

A spokesman for the government of the Abyei special administrative area, Ajak Deng Miyan, blamed local herders and fighters from Sudan for Sunday's attack on ethnic Dinka.

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The statement called on the UN peacekeeping force there to protect civilians.

Oil-rich Abyei has been contested since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.(AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)