Taylor will know fate 'soon'

2006-03-06 22:05

Monrovia - Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf returned on Monday from Nigeria, promising that the fate of former warlord Charles Taylor, wanted for war crimes, would "soon" be finalised by African leaders.

Sirleaf said: "The issue of Charles Taylor was discussed in Nigeria.

"The African leaders will work on finding a solution that will be acceptable to the international community, and that will soon be done."

A source in Sirleaf's office said that African leaders were consulting on the issue under the aegis of the African Union and that a decision was likely to be announced at the next AU summit in Banjul, Gambia, in July.

Support for rebels

Taylor was wanted at the international war crimes tribunal in neighbouring Sierra Leone to face charges of supporting the brutal rebels of that country's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in the 1990s.

Sirleaf who had been on an official tour of Nigeria since Friday, had repeatedly said the Taylor issue was not her priority, despite pressure from the international community for him to face justice.

Remi Oyo, a spokesperson for Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, was quoted as saying that the two leaders had not discussed Taylor's fate, although Obasanjo had met Taylor, days before Sirleaf's visit.

UN-backed deal

Taylor had been living in Nigeria since August 2003 at Obasanjo's invitation as part of a United Nations-backed political process, which brought to an end Liberia's 14-year civil war and organised the election which ushered Sirleaf into power.

According to a source in the president's office, meanwhile, Sirleaf who was expected to proceed from Nigeria to Europe for a three-nation tour of Belgium, France and Switzerland, was now likely to travel in midweek.

No official explanation was given for the change in her itinerary.

- AFP