A peace deal to end Africa's longest civil war in southern Sudan is under threat after dramatic new allegations have been made about a massacre allegedly committed by pro-government forces.
The New York-based group, Human Rights Watch said today it has established that pro-government militias executed 136 men in a co-ordinated operation last month.
UN officials have described the conflict in the western Darfur region as ethnic cleansing.
"The...peace process is being negatively affected," said Pa'gan Amum, one of the chief rebel negotiators, referring to Darfur as well as new fighting in the southern Shilluk kingdom.
"If they (the government) continue killing people there will be no point in reaching an agreement because...what we want is not a peaceful graveyard, we want peace as an opportunity for people to live as human beings," said.
The civil war, which has claimed about two million lives, has been complicated by issues of oil, ethnicity and ideology.