Tribal clashes in the new country of South Sudan have left 600 people dead and 985 people injured reported the UN on Monday.

The violence erupted Thursday in Jonglei state and the UN mission to South Sudan reported the death toll, said UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.

South Sudan became independent from Sudan on July 5 to much international fanfare, but diplomats have expressed mounting concerns about stability in the country and tensions with the Khartoum government.

A UN team has been sent to Jonglei and the head of the UN mission to South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, has appealed for restraint.

Jonglei Governor Kuol Manyang Juuk said Friday that women and children were among the dead and that the fighting started in Bier sub-county.

He said Murle tribe members were suspected of attacking five villages of the Lou Nuer tribe in Bier. He said cattle had been stolen and some women and children abducted.

Source: Reuters