Wanted Liberian warlord 'disappears'

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor, wanted for war crimes by a court in Sierra Leone, has disappeared from his residence in southeastern Nigeria, the Nigerian presidency said yesterday.

The disappearance is an embarrassment for Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, on a visit to the United States this week, because Washington has been pressing for years for Mr Taylor to stand trial at the special UN-backed court.

In Washington, Republican Representative Ed Royce called on President George W. Bush to cancel a meeting today with Mr Obasanjo. The State Department said Nigeria was responsible for keeping Mr Taylor secure and bringing him to court.

Mr Taylor had lived in Nigeria since 2003, when he stepped down as part of a deal to end Liberia's 14-year civil war. He is the first African former head of state to face war crimes charges in an international court, lobby group Human Rights Watch said.

"President Olusegun Obasanjo has approved the constitution of a panel of enquiry to look into the circumstances of the disappearance... of Mr Charles Taylor... from his residence in Calabar," the presidency said in a statement.

Mr Taylor disappeared on Monday night, it said, two days after Nigeria said Liberia was free to take him into its custody.

Nigerian police said 22 officers detailed to guard Mr Taylor had been arrested for misconduct and dereliction of duty.

Nigeria and Liberia have been at odds about where he should go. In Sierra Leone, Mr Taylor stands accused of supporting rebels notorious for hacking off the limbs of civilians, in exchange for diamonds to finance the Liberian conflict. The two wars claimed an estimated 300,000 lives and spawned a generation of child soldiers.