The UN says a mass grave containing 75 bodies has been found in Bentiu in the north of South Sudan, amid spreading ethnic violence.
The UN's human rights body said at least two other mass graves, in the capital Juba, had been reported.
The fighting first erupted in Juba last week and has spread throughout South Sudan.
It follows a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and his ex-deputy Riek Machar, of the Nuer.
Analysis
The growing number of allegations of ethnically motivated killings are deeply concerning. It's important to remember that this crisis is at its heart a political struggle, in a militarised, and, yes, ethnically divided society.
The strength of politicians often comes from their ethnic base, so the power struggle is exacerbating ethnic cleavages.
It is wrong to paint this as an 'ethnic war', though - it is far more complicated than this. It is also unclear to what extent the military commanders can control the many armed civilians fighting in different parts of the country.
With all that said, international concern about ethnically driven violence is high. Ban Ki-moon has warned that anyone responsible for human rights violations will be held to account.
It is to be hoped that these are not empty words.
UN officials say at least 80,000 people have been displaced by the crisis - about half of them seeking shelter at UN bases - with fighting now having spread to half of the 10 states.
'Palpable fear'
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has urged both sides to do all they can to protect civilians.
She said in a statement: 'Mass extrajudicial killings, the targeting of individuals on the basis of their ethnicity and arbitrary detentions have been documented in recent days.
'We have discovered a mass grave in Bentiu, in Unity State, and there are reportedly at least two other mass graves in Juba.'
UNHCR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the bodies in Bentiu appeared to be Dinka soldiers from the Sudan People's Liberation Army.
The other two reported grave sites are at Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Eden, both in Juba.
However, the reports have not been independently verified.
Ms Pillay added: 'There is a palpable fear among civilians of both Dinka and Nuer backgrounds that they will be killed on the basis of their ethnicity.'
BBC Africa analyst James Copnall says the fighting in South Sudan is not an exclusively ethnic conflict - it is a military combat propelled by political ambitions.
But he says South Sudan does have deep ethnic divisions and they are being exacerbated by the fighting.
President Kiir and Mr Machar have both said they are willing to talk to try to end the conflict.
However, Mr Machar has said his detained political allies must first be freed, while Mr Kiir says there should be no preconditions.
Mr Machar told Radio France Internationale he had spoken to US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday. Mr Machar said he had formed a delegation for talks and that they would probably be held in Ethiopia.
He said: 'We want a democratic nation. We want democratic free and fair elections. We want Salva Kiir to call it a day.'
Rebels supporting Mr Machar have seized the major towns of Bor and Bentiu, the capital of the oil-producing Unity State.
Mr Kiir has accused Mr Machar, who he sacked in July, of plotting a coup. Mr Machar denies he is trying to seize power, while the government has denied it is behind any ethnic violence.
Hannah McNeish, a journalist in Juba, told the BBC that she had interviewed a man called Simon, living at a UN camp, who said he had been shot four times but managed to survive a mass killing by hiding under dead bodies.
'He tells of being rounded up with about 250 other men, driven to a police station in one of Juba's busiest suburbs. He describes an ordeal whereby over the course of two days, forces outside the windows fired into this room, killing all but 12 men,' she said.
The official death toll in the week of fighting stands at 500, but aid agencies say the true figure is likely to be much higher.
The UN has 7,000 soldiers deployed in South Sudan but Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Security Council to assign another 5,500 troops.
Sudan suffered a 22-year civil war that left more than a million people dead before the South became independent in 2011.
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - Rating: 4.5
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