2009-09-22

KHARTOUM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- About 100 people were killed during the latest tribal clash in southern Sudan, where witnessed mounting tribal violence this year, sources from the UN peacekeeping forces said Monday.

Thousands of armed men from the Lou Nuer tribe attacked the village of Duk Padiet in Jonglei state Sunday. The fighting killed about 100 people, including about 80 civilians, the sources of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said.

Last month, about 185 Lou Nuers were killed during the tribe clash in the same state.

Some 2,000 people have died in tribe violence across the south this year, according to UN figures.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, inked in 2005 to end a two-decade war between northern and southern Sudan, stipulates a referendum in the south in 2011 to decide whether an independent state would be set up in the currently semi-autonomous region.

However, the two peace partners, namely the ruling National Conference Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), have not ironed out their differences on the referendum.

The SPLM accused the NCP of being involved in the tribal violence in southern Sudan, but the NCP denied the claim.

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