Fears grow for 'slave' children aboard ship

Fears are growing for the welfare of more than 100 slave children on board a cargo ship in Africa's Gulf of Guinea.

The Nigerian-registered MV Etireno has been refused permission earlier this week to dock in Cameroon's port city of Douala after earlier being turned away from Gabon.

The ship had set off secretly with its human cargo from Benin's commercial capital, Cotonou, where it began its journey more than a week ago.

The voyage from Cameroon to Benin normally takes two days, but United Nations officials fear the captain may try to divert the vessel to another country to avoid arrest.

Although the ship had refuelled in Douala, it is unclear how long it will last. It is also doubtful whether the passengers onboard have enough food and water.

Nicolas Pron, a UNICEF official in Benin, says Cameroon police have informed the agency there are "many, many children on the boat, many of whom were sick".

UN officials say they believe the Etireno could contain 100-250 children from Benin and other African countries destined for slavery.

The ship's captain, an unnamed Nigerian national, has "trafficked children" in the past, Mr Pron has alleged.

The final destination of the Etireno remains uncertain.

Officials in Benin say they believe the ship is bound for Cotonou.

UNICEF, the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies has set up health facilities at Cotonou's harbour to receive the children if they arrive.

"If the boat comes here and there are no children aboard, I would be even more worried (than if it was filled with sick children)," said UNICEF representative Estelle Guluman.

Despite international efforts to stamp out child trafficking, it remains a serious problem in West and Central Africa where desperately poor parents are sometimes willing to give up their children for as little as $14 dollars to smuggling rings that promise to educate them and find them jobs.

Boys are then typically resold to cocoa and cotton plantations for as much as $340 dollars (£220) in countries such as Gabon and Ivory Coast. Girls often end up as domestic workers or prostitutes.