Scores fleeing South Sudan fighting drown in Nile - officials

Two woman displaced by the fighting in Bor county look to each other as they sit by their mosquito nets in Minkaman, in Awerial county, Lakes state, in South Sudan, January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu

JUBA (Reuters) - Scores of South Sudanese drowned when a packed ferry capsized in the White Nile near the capital of an oil-producing region where government forces and rebels have fought for control, officials said on Tuesday.

A government spokesman said about 200 people died as they took to the river to flee clashes in Malakal, a major transit point and administrative centre of Upper Nile state.