Blood Diamonds Are At The Heart Of Charles Taylor's Warcrimes Trial

Charles Taylor stands trial in The Hague, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Photo: Reuters

Charles Taylor's Warcrimes Trial: Factfile -- The Telegraph

Blood diamonds are at the heart of the trial of Liberia's ex-president Charles Taylor in the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The accused:

Charles Ghankay Taylor, 62, was the president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003.

He is accused of arming neighbouring Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in exchange for "blood diamonds" - so called for being mined in rebel-held regions of Africa and sold to fund warfare.

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My Comment: It is all about the money (i.e. diamonds). If the diamonds were not there, this conflict would not have reached the bloodshed that consumed it at the end.