Former Liberian President Charles Taylor arrived in Monrovia today and was taken into custody by United Nations officials to face a war crimes tribunal in neighbouring Sierra Leone, a witness said.
UN officials and armed peacekeepers escorted the former warlord from the plane to a nearby helicopter, which was due to fly him to Sierra Leone, where he has been indicted on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
UN peacekeepers, some of them in armoured personnel carriers, were deployed around Monrovia's international airport as Taylor flew in.
A bailiff from the UN-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone was among the officials who received Taylor, a witness said.