Clashes in two Sudanese flashpoints left scores dead, officials said on Wednesday, reigniting fears for the stability of the country's oil-producing south in the countdown to its independence. Arab nomads and militias fought southern police in the contested north-south border area of Abyei on Wednesday (3 March) killing at least six people, the latest in a series of clashes, officials said. Renegade militia fighters clashed with south Sudan's army on Sunday in the southern oil state of Jonglei, where French oil giant Total is due to start exploring, both sides said.