Mass graves have been discovered in South Sudan with evidence of horrific crimes against civilians including forced cannibalism, according to the African Union.

The report also disputes there was a coup attempt in December 2013 by former vice president Riek Machar.

The African Union investigators, led by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, found that the conflict began with a skirmish between members of the presidential guard in the capital Juba, followed by the government-organised killings of ethnic Nuer civilians and soldiers.

President Salva Kiir is a Dinka while Mr Machar is a Nuer.

Hundreds of Nuer men were rounded up and shot, and the report said perpetrators also tortured their victims, including by forcing them to eat human flesh.

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