Nairobi/Juba, Southern Sudan - At least 47 people have died in a clash between the Mundari and Dinka tribes in Southern Sudan - the latest in a series of cattle raids that is threatening a fragile peace.

Army spokesman Kuol Deim Kuol said late Wednesday that the Mundari attacked a Dinka village on Monday in order to steal cattle, but that the villagers fought back and killed over 30 attackers.

Tribal disputes, mainly over cattle, have long been common in autonomous Southern Sudan but easy access to weapons left over from the civil war between the Muslim north and Christian and animist south has helped ramp up the body count.

A shift in the nature of the violence this year - which usually claims the lives of men guarding their cattle - has seen more women and children killed.

The United Nations says around 2,000 people have been killed in raids and hundreds of thousands displaced this year.

Many in Southern Sudan believe that Khartoum is orchestrating the violence in order to undermine Southern Sudan's progression toward full independence.

Others say the clashes are being stoked by southern political rivals.

A fragile peace has held between north and south since the end of a 21-year civil war in 2005.

The peace deal that ended the war laid out a road map that included elections in Southern Sudan, to be held next year, and a referendum on independence in 2011.

However, the UN is warning that if the violence continues, it will be difficult to organize the crucial ballot in the south.

UN-backed Radio Miraya, quoting a local government official, said the latest attack had disrupted voter registration and road construction. (dpa)