DHAKA: A rights group says it has evidence that South Sudan government forces deliberately suffocated more than 60 men and boys in a shipping container.

They then dumped the bodies in a field in Leer Town, Unity State, Amnesty International said.

Researchers said they had found the remains of skeletons from the killings, which are said to have taken place last October, reports the BBC.

Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced since 2013.

"Dozens of people suffered a slow and agonising death at the hands of government forces that should have been protecting them. These unlawful killings must be investigated," said Lama Fakih from Amnesty.

Amnesty researchers interviewed more than 42 witnesses, including 23 people who said they saw the men and boys being forced into a shipping container and later saw their bodies either being removed or at a mass burial site.

Witnesses described hearing the detainees screaming and banging on the walls of the shipping container, which they said had no windows or other form of ventilation.

Relatives of the victims told Amnesty that the victims were cattle keepers, traders and students, not fighters.

BDST: 0854 HRS, MAR 11, 2016
RS