Ivory Coast Refuses Liberian Refugees

Thousands of sweltering Liberian refugees, packed onto a leaky freighter with no toilets or beds, journeyed across the choppy Atlantic Friday in search of safety in Ghana. Relief officials said they didn’t know if the boat could remain afloat.

Ivory Coast officials, fearing a new flood of Liberian refugees, forced the ship back into the Atlantic late Thursday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.

“We are very worried about the 4,000 Liberians on the boat,” agency spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume said Friday. “The conditions on the boat are appalling. The boat is damaged.”