Members of the international peacekeeping forces in Abyei, which is disputed between Sudan and South Sudan (Al Jazeera)

54 people were killed, including two members of the international peacekeeping forces, in tribal attacks on Saturday and Sunday in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan, the United Nations announced on Monday, calling for calm.

The oil-rich Abyei region is administered jointly by South Sudan and Sudan, and each declares its dependence on it.

In turn, Sudanese local sources confirmed that more than 50 people, including women and children, were killed, and more than 60 others were injured in a series of attacks launched by gunmen from the Warab tribe in South Sudan in the Abyei region.

Information Minister Paul Kok in the Sudanese state of Abyei said that armed youths from Warrap state in South Sudan carried out raids on the neighboring Abyei region on Saturday, noting that the local authorities imposed a curfew against the backdrop of the deteriorating security situation.

Cook added that young men from the Dinka tribe in Warrap and the forces of a rebel leader from the Nuer tribe carried out attacks against other Dinka and Nuer tribal groups in Abyei.

For his part, William Wall, Minister of Information in Warrap State in South Sudan, said that his government will conduct a joint investigation with the Abyei government into the incident.

The United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) said on Monday that two UN peacekeepers stationed in Abyei were killed when its base in the town of Agok was attacked during the violence.

According to the Secretary-General of the Abyei Special Administrative Region, the violence is linked to "the long-standing conflict between the Ngok and Twic tribes."

Clashes have been repeated in Abyei between rival tribal factions, regarding the location of the administrative borders, which are a major source of tax revenues from cross-border trade.

The attacks come after clashes last November, which resulted in the deaths of 32 people, including a member of the international peacekeeping force.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies