Taylor aide alleges rebel links

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A former senior bodyguard of Liberian ex-President Charles Taylor has told his trial of an alleged secret radio link with Sierra Leone rebels.

Varmuyan Sherif told the court in The Hague he discovered the link after being sent to make contact with Sierra Leone rebel commander Sam Bockarie.

Correspondents say the defence is likely to challenge Mr Sherif's story.

Mr Taylor, 59, is charged with having command responsibility for the rebels' atrocities. He has pleaded not guilty.

He is the first African leader to face a criminal trial internationally.

Mr Bockarie - alias Mosquito - was also indicted by UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes committed during the 10-year civil war, but was killled in 2003.

Identity check

The BBC's Mark Doyle in The Hague says this was a big day for the prosecution, with the case against Mr Taylor getting under way in earnest.

<a class="" href="/1/hi/world/africa/2963086.stm">Charles Taylor: Profile</a>

Mr Sherif said he worked as one of Mr Taylor's senior bodyguards in charge of the presidential armed convoy and protection of his official residence.

He said he was sent to try to convince Mr Bockarie, a senior Revolutionary United Front (RUF), to visit Mr Taylor in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

But the rebel was suspicious and decided to check his credentials.

The next day Mr Sherif was taken to a radio room where Mr Bockarie made contact with Mr Taylor's Monrovia mansion.

When he was satisfied that the message was genuine, Mr Bockarie was on his way to Monrovia within hours, the witness said.

Mr Sherif later discovered a special high-frequency radio on the fifth floor of Mr Taylor's mansion.

Correspondents say Mr Sherif is the first so-called insider witness to establish a link between the Liberian ex-president and Sierra Leone rebels.

His evidence follows that of Sierra Leone churchman Alex Tamba Teh, who on Tuesday described a massacre of civilians by the rebels in April 1998.

The witness did not draw any link between the events he described and Mr Taylor.

The trial opened in June last year but proceedings were postponed after Mr Taylor fired his defence lawyer and boycotted the opening of the trial.

The ex-Liberian president is accused of responsibility for the actions of RUF rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone, which included unlawful killings, sexual slavery, use of child soldiers and looting.