South Sudan troops killed 50 civilians by suffocation - report

South Sudan's government troops killed about 50 civilians last October by stuffing them into a shipping container in baking heat, a report has said.

The document by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which oversees the country's ceasefire, said the incident took place in Unity State.

The government has not commented on the claim - the latest reported atrocities in more than two years of war.

Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced since then.

"About 50 people suffocated in a container on about 22 October. The investigation was protracted. Attribution of responsibility: Government Forces," the JMEC report said.

The document by the monitoring group, which is backed by the African Union, was made public late on Sunday.

Metal containers are often used as makeshift prison cells in the country.

South Sudan's government has repeatedly denied carrying out atrocities in the conflict.

The JMEC report also accused both government troops and rebel forces of rape, murder and looting.

The civil war began in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

The two sides blame each other for violating the terms of a peace deal agreement reached in August.

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