At least 37 civilians have been killed and 18 abducted in renewed attacks in an area disputed between South Sudan and Sudan, authorities have said.

It is the latest attack in a three-year-long spate of clashes in the oil-rich region of Abyei.

The majority of those killed during the weekend raid were women and children, the area's interim administration said.

Markets and residential areas were torched and 1,000 heads of cattle looted.

It accused two armed youth groups from Warrap State in South Sudan of raiding the area in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday and carrying out “coordinated attacks” on four different villages within Abyei.

Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sport in the Abyei Special Administration, Bulis Koch Aguar, condemned the attacks and urged the national government in Juba to address the conflict between the Ngok Dinka of Abyei and the Twic Dinka of Warrap.

Last week, two armed youth groups from Warrap State raided Abyei, killing at least 53 people, including two UN peacekeepers, in the deadliest incident in the disputed region.

Abyei remains a contested area between Sudan and South Sudan as the two countries have not yet resolved the dispute over the final status of the region.