KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A consortium of more than 300 civic and aid groups in South Sudan says that despite a peace agreement, violence against civilians is continuing, with killings, rapes and abductions

South Sudan's NGO Forum said in a statement Thursday that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating amid persistent fighting.

Between April and September, at least 1,000 civilians were killed, and 1,300 women and girls were abducted in three countries in the volatile state of Unity, it said, citing a report by the Global Protection Cluster. A peace deal was signed in August.

The group said "the situation for civilians is desperate and getting worse" as fighting spreads to another state, Western Equatoria.