Ghana Forces Refugee Ship to Leave a 2nd Time

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast —  A rusty freighter seeking a port of refuge for thousands of sick and weary Liberian refugees fleeing factional fighting was forced out to sea yet again Monday after restocking urgently needed food and medical supplies in Ghana.

Ghanaian authorities would not let the 3,000 to 4,000 refugees disembark, although eight seriously ill people were allowed off. Two of them were hospitalized in critical condition.

“It is really horrible and scandalous that the people were not allowed to come down from the boat even if it was only for a few hours, just to come down for some rice,” said Michel Loro with the international relief group Doctors Without Borders. “It is really inhumane.”

The ship had earlier tried to dock at Takoradi, a port in western Ghana, on Sunday, when authorities blocked it with large floating cranes. Naval sources said that gunshots were heard on the freighter and that they feared Liberian faction fighters were on board.

They later let it anchor for several hours to refuel and then forced it to embark on the three-day journey to Lagos, Nigeria.

However, its generator broke down overnight and it was allowed to return to Takoradi on Monday morning.

It left the port late Monday, and there were conflicting reports about where it was headed.

Ghanaian officials said it was returning to Liberia. Other port officials said they believed the freighter would try to make it to Lagos, where government officials have indicated they would consider taking in the refugees.

The United Nations pleaded Monday with West African leaders to offer refuge to the Liberians.

“Unless the door is opened to them, a lot of people, many of them women and children, may die,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the United States believes Ghana and Ivory Coast should assist the refugees.