A plane carrying exiled former Liberian president and war crimes suspect Charles Taylor has arrived in his home country from Nigeria. He was put on a UN helicopter expected to be heading to Sierra Leone, where he is wanted by the war crimes tribunal for his alleged role in the civil war. He was extradited from Nigeria after he was caught trying to escape custody - ending his exile of nearly three years. Nigeria has denied it was negligent in the way it handled Mr Taylor.
The former leader faces 17 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his alleged role in the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone, where he is accused of backing rebels notorious for mutilating civilians. The tribunal's top prosecutor Desmond de Silva told the BBC he was delighted he had been arrested. Tribunal officials say extra troops are due to arrive in Sierra Leone to reinforce security at the UN-backed court - where a cell is waiting for him, reports the BBC's Mark Doyle in Monrovia.
Mr Taylor had been in exile in Nigeria since 2003 after a deal ending Liberia's civil war. He went missing on Monday from his southern villa after the country announced Liberia was free to detain him.
Mr Taylor was detained earlier by security forces in the town of Gamboru-Ngala, close to the Cameroon border in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Borno. The former Liberian leader had arrived at the frontier in a Range Rover jeep with diplomatic corps number plates, a trader working at the Gamboru-Ngala border post told AFP news agency. "He was wearing a white flowing robe," said Babagana Alhaji Kata. "He passed through immigration but when he reached customs they were suspicious and they insisted on searching the jeep, where they found a large amount of US dollars. "After a further search they discovered he was Charles Taylor." Nigeria has arrested Mr Taylor's Nigerian guards and has launched an investigation.
News of Mr Taylor's capture came just before Mr Obasanjo left for a visit to the US for talks with President George W Bush. Mr Bush welcomed the capture and said he appreciated Nigeria's work to apprehend him, during their meeting.
For his part, Mr Obasanjo denied Nigeria had been "negligent" in its handling of the suspect, and said earlier he felt "vindicated" by the capture. Those who had suggested Nigeria may have been complicit in Mr Taylor's initial escape were wrong and owed him an apology, he added.
UPDATE: FREETOWN (Reuters) - A U.N. helicopter carrying former Liberian President Charles Taylor arrived on Wednesday in Sierra Leone, where he is due to stand trial for war crimes, two Reuters witnesses said. Taylor was flown into the large compound in Freetown housing the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone which has indicted him on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Mongolian U.N. guards and Sierra Leonean paramilitary police were protecting the complex, which is surrounded by a barbed wire-topped high wall and watchtowers. He was escorted from the helicopter to a U.N vehicles and driven to a building in the compound, the witnesses said. "A U.N. helicopter carrying Charles Taylor landed at Freetown at 7:06 p.m. local time (0706 GMT). He is now in the custody of the special court for Sierra Leone," U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.
Taylor was taken into custody earlier by U.N. officials in Liberia after being flown from northern Nigeria, where police had captured him while he was trying to escape over the border into Cameroon. |