Bodies of two Misseriya traders were found near Banton on the outskirts of Abyei, where they were abandoned after being killed by unknown persons, the UN peacekeepers said.

In a statement extended to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, the United Nations Interim Security Forces for Abyei (UNISFA) said the victims have been missing since arriving in Abyei town from Amiet market on 30 December.

“On 6 January, a joint UNISFA-Abyei Community Protection Committee (CPC) search team found the bodies of two Misseriya traders near Banton on the outskirts of Abyei, where they were abandoned after being murdered by unknown persons,” the statement read in part.

UNISFA expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and to the government of Sudan and appealed for calm, and called on all to avoid unverified social media reporting or manipulation at this stage.

“UNISFA condemns the abduction and murder of the two traders and will invest the effort to support the investigation of the murder in order to establish the facts of the incident,” it said.

The peacekeeping force said it is fully committed to the safety and security of civilians in the Abyei area and called on all stakeholders to cooperate to ensure the implementation of the Mission’s Protection of Civilian mandate and its mandate in general.

Oil-rich Abyei has been contested since South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. Sudan and South Sudan are yet to agree on the mapping of the border.

UNISFA was deployed in June 2011 to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence and protect the area from incursions by armed groups.

Last week, at least 13 people were reported killed and five others wounded in an attack in Abyei by an armed group believed to be from Nuer and Twic Dinka communities.