JUBA: A ferry carrying South Sudanese civilians met an accident on the White Nile river, leaving more than 200 persons including women and children drowned, army spokesman Philip Aguer said.
The army spokesman said that the boat was overloaded, adding that people were fleeing the fighting that broke out again in the area of Malakal, located on the banks of the White Nile.
At least 1,100 people have been killed in South Sudan while 230,000 have been forced from their homes since the fighting broke out on December 15, 2013 after the president Salva Kiir accused a group of disgruntled soldiers and politicians led by Riek Machar of attempting to overthrow the government in the capital Juba.