Taylor accepts asylum in Nigeria

Liberian President Charles Taylor on Sunday accepted to leave his country and take up asylum in Nigeria. But he repeated earlier demands for an "an orderly exit from power" and called on the US to lead an international peacekeeping force into Liberia. Without giving a timetable for his departure, Taylor told reporters after meeting Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, that he wanted the peacekeepers to ensure that Liberia would not be plunged into chaos. Taylor, clad in all white, said: "They [Nigeria] extended the invitation. We embrace and accept it. We invite the US to come full force and assist in bringing peace back to Liberia." "But we believe that it is not unreasonable to request an orderly exit from power," Taylor added. "We are talking about necessary action to prevent chaos and disruption in Liberia." But in an indication of Taylor's plans, the Field Commander of the country's armed forces, General Roland Duo, told reporters earlier that Taylor had officially informed the army to expect a new government by 15 July. Obasanjo, standing side-by-side with Taylor in flowing robes, told reporters that although he had offered asylum to the Liberian leader, he would not accept to be "harassed" over it. "We extended an invitation on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria for President Taylor to come to Nigeria. The condition is that Nigeria and I will not be harassed by anybody or any country for showing this humanitarian gesture, a gesture that is very necessary for us to solve the problem of this country." Pressure for Taylor to resign however continued. US President George Bush was quoted by international news agencies as saying in a Saturday radio address that Taylor must leave. "And I am not going to take no for an answer," Bush said ahead on a trip to Africa. General Duo said: "We are now not interested in continuing to fight or to gain extra territory, but to await the peacekeepers to whom we will disarm. The President has informed us that there will be a new interim government from 15 July." Taylor also ordered that each Liberian government soldier be paid "a farewell compensation" of $11,000 Liberian dollars (about US $200). On Saturday evening, Taylor met senior members of his political party and told them he would heed President Bush's call to leave power. "I do not want to get into a confrontation with America, which is the greatest country in the world," sources at the meeting quoted Taylor as saying. He repeated earlier demands that an indictment against him by a UN-backed court in neighbouring Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity be rescinded. Taylor was indicted in March for crimes allegedly committed during a decade of war in Sierra Leone. Taylor, other sources within Taylor's office told IRIN, cleared out his office on Saturday afternoon, before his political colleagues. Late in the evening, a chartered jet aircraft flew out his personal property from Liberia's international airport. In Germany, officials said a team of US military experts would fly to Liberia to assess the situation on Sunday before the US decided whether to commit peacekeeping troops to Liberia. "We are forming a humanitarian assistance survey team to leave for Liberia today," said John Tomassi, a spokesman for the US European command in Stuttgart, told Reuters. "It will probably be a team of 10 to 15. We're still assembling the team right now. Once everyone's together they'll take off," Tomassi said. "It is a humanitarian assistance team and will report back on the situation so the commanders will be able to make a better decision on what to do next." Taylor's supporters staged a peaceful demonstration outside the Monrovia airport before Obasanjo arrived. They carried banners that read: "Upon the leaving of our President, what is our future?" and "US government, Please tell us our future in the absence of President Taylor" Monrovia was quiet on Sunday for the seventh day, after a truce between Taylor's fighters and rebels fighting to topple him, resurrected a 17 June ceasefire. The rebels who reached the gates of the city two weeks ago, said they withdrew to avert a humanitarian disaster and allow ongoing peace talks in Ghana to proceed.