Al-Qaeda 'working with Taylor'
2005-05-25 10:31
New York - The al-Qaeda network is actively seeking to destablize west Africa, partly through its links with ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor who has given sanctuary to the network's operatives, a UN-backed court said on Tuesday.
Taylor faces a 17-count indictment by the UN-backed special tribunal for Sierra Leone. He is accused of arming and training rebels in exchange for so-called blood diamonds.
"Al-Qaeda has been in west Africa. It continues to be in west Africa and Charles Taylor has been harboring members of al-Qaeda," said David Crane, a prosecutor with the war crimes tribunal.
Crane specifically linked Taylor and al-Qaeda to an attempt to overthrow the government in Guinea, whose president, Lansana Conte, was the victim of an assassination attempt in January.
- AFP