Militias allied to the South Sudanese army have been allowed to rape women in lieu of wages while fighting rebels, BBC reports quoting a UN report. Investigators found that 1,300 women had been raped last year in oil-rich Unity State alone, it said. The army operated a "scorched earth" policy to deliberately target civilians for killing and rape, which amounted to war crimes, the UN said.
The government denies its army targeted civilians but says it is investigating.
"We have rules of engagement and we are following them," said a spokesman for President Salva Kiir, Ateny Wek Ateny.
According to the report, militias operated under a "do what you can and take what you can" agreement that allowed them to rape and abduct women and girls as a form of payment. They also raided cattle and stole personal property, it added.
The scale and type of sexual violence committed in South Sudan constitute some of the most horrendous human rights abuses in the world, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.