In The Hague, former Liberian President Charles Taylor has given evidence to the Special Court for Sierra Leone for the first time. He was cross-examined about his contacts with the country's Revolutionary United Front rebels.

He denied that he received large amounts of diamonds in exchange for supplying the RUF rebels with weapons. Mr Taylor admitted being in touch with the RUF at the end of the 1990s, but he explained that this was in order to mediate in Sierra Leone's civil war.

He is accused of incitement to murder, rape, and other war crimes in Sierra Leone. He is said to have wanted to disrupt the government of Sierra Leone which borders Liberia in order to gain more regional influence.

photo: Charles Taylor in The Hague (ANP)