The Defense Ministry rebutted on Tuesday allegations by a Washington-based group that Chinese peacekeepers had abandoned their posts in South Sudan in July instead of protecting civilians, saying it is "sheer malicious speculation".

The Center for Civilians in Conflict said that Chinese peacekeepers with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan had withdrawn from a civilian protection zone in July after coming under attack, Reuters reported.

"The report's allegations concerning Chinese peacekeepers do not conform to the facts at all," Yang Yujun, the ministry, said in a reply published on the ministry's website.