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A group of Liberians who disembarked on Tuesday at the port of Lagos, Nigeria, after spending three weeks at sea, have been moved to a refugee camp, Red Cross and UN officials said.
The MV Alnar Stockholm left Monrovia on 1 June with passengers thought to be mostly refugees fleeing Liberia because of fighting in the north between pro- and anti-government forces. The Swedish vessel was denied entry by the authorities in Ghana, Togo and Benin before Nigeria decided on humanitarian grounds to allow it to dock in Lagos.
A statement issued by the International Federation of the Red Cross said there were 186 Liberians - 80 women, 36 children and 70 men - and that they were relieved to get off the ship. It said although 12 were treated for malaria and diarrhoea, “none required hospitalisation” and the rest needed just food and water. They have been moved to a refugee camp at Oru, 150 km north of Lagos, the Federation said.
“We have made arrangements for all of them to be received at the camp and are working closely with UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) who provided us with the medicines,” the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Red Cross, Samuel Orebiyi, was quoted as saying.
A source at the office of the UNHCR in Lagos confirmed to IRIN that operations officials had been sent to the port to identify those who were, in fact, refugees and ascertain their immediate needs prior to taking them to the camp.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
