A Sudanese official says six people have been killed and one injured in an armed attack by South Sudan's army against a Sudanese Arab tribe.

Kabashy Bakheet, who is a leading member of Sudanese Arab Mesiria tribe, told Xinhua on Sunday that the attack, in which six members of the tribe were killed, and one was injured, took place near the border of Sudan and South Sudan.

Bakheet stated that eight other members of the tribe also went missing.

"A force belonging to the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) of South Sudan attacked a group of herdsmen from the Mesiria tribe at Abu Quroun area, killing six people and wounding another, while eight others went missing," Bakheet stated.

"The SPLA force on Saturday attacked the Mesiria herdsmen and looted 800 heads of cattle before withdrawing to Mayoum area in South Sudan," he added.


Sudan accuses South Sudan, which seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011, of supporting anti-government rebels operating in the Darfur region and the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

South Sudan became independent on July 9, 2011, after decades of conflict with the north. The new oil-rich nation is one of the least developed countries in the world, with one in seven children dying before the age of five.