The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said today the situation in Liberia is "horrific" and voiced its concern for the thousands of people crowding into the capital Monrovia.
To make the situation worse, the agency said, it has had to suspend an emergency sealift it had been operating since the start of the month to move Sierre Leonean refugees in Liberia back to their country's capital Freetown.
It said High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers was renewing his appeal for support for calls from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the rapid deployment in Liberia of an international peacekeeping force.
"The UNHCR is gravely concerned over the horrific situation in Liberia and the fate of tens of thousands of displaced people and refugees now jamming Monrovia," the agency said.
Hundreds of people were seeking refuge in the UNHCR compound, including many Sierra Leoneans who were hoping to be taken home on the ship that had been used for the rescue operation.
But the vessel, which had evacuated some 1,500 refugees in four journeys between Freetown and Monrovia, had to return empty at the weekend because it developed problems while waiting for fighting to ease so that it could dock.