South Sudan government troops and allied fighters killed at least 232 civilians in a five-week period this year, hanging some people from trees and burning others alive, according to a United Nations report.
The report released yesterday is the latest snapshot of the widespread atrocities committed in the world's youngest nation over its five-year civil war. It says the "deliberate, ruthless" attacks may amount to war crimes.
Human rights monitors for the UN found that at least 120 women and girls were raped or gang-raped between April 16 and May 24.
The rape victims included children as young as 4, and some sexual assault targets were shot dead for resisting, the UN monitors reported.
"One 20-year-old woman was still bleeding from childbirth when she was raped," the report states.
Other findings from the five-week tally were: