Liberian leader turns down Nigerian offer

Nigeria offered safe haven to Charles Taylor, but the embattled Liberian president turned it down, senior U.N. diplomats said Tuesday.

According to the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Taylor rejected the offer for several reasons, including uncertainty over whether the offer would shield him from a U.N. indictment he is facing on war crimes.

"There are a lot of unanswered questioned here and so Taylor isn't willing to entertain the issue right now," said one Security Council diplomat at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Fighting between Taylor's forces and rebels fighting to oust him killed hundreds of trapped civilians in the capital, Monrovia, last month. Rebels have fought for three years to take the capital and unseat Taylor in a war that has displaced more than 1 million Liberians.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Kofi Annan stepped up pressure on the Bush administration to take a lead role in restoring peace to the West African nation, which was founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century.

"Many are expecting the United States to lead that operation. Several countries, members of the U.N. have appealed for that. The Liberian population is also asking for that," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said while traveling in Switzerland. Annan later spoke by phone to Secretary of State Colin Powell about the situation.

U.N. diplomats said Annan was frustrated that the Bush administration wasn't moving faster considering the grave situation on the ground. The secretary-general also criticized the Security Council for delaying further discussion on the matter until next week, when its delegation returns.

Even as international diplomacy continued to secure some kind of U.S. commitment, mere talk of Washington even considering such action set off celebrations in Liberia's devastated capital of Monrovia, with thousands dancing and singing at the U.S. Embassy gates late Tuesday.

In Washington, President Bush and his National Security Council reached no conclusions in their discussions of the Liberian situation Tuesday morning, an official said. And the president did not mention the issue in an afternoon speech on the global role of the U.S. military.

However, the White House said it is "actively discussing" how to bring peace to Liberia amid international calls for the United States to lead a peacekeeping force there.

The offer for Nigerian exile was negotiated with the help of a Security Council mission that is visiting the region and met with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo over the weekend.

Under the deal, Nigeria wouldn't turn Taylor over to the U.N.-Sierra Leone court even if the indictment stands, diplomats in the region said.

British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, who is leading the Security Council delegation, said he would leave it to Obasanjo to make public any details regarding the offer. But Greenstock noted that Nigeria has no extradition laws.

"We hope whatever choices are made in the region or anywhere else, impunity for those who commit gross abuses of human rights in any situation will not be allowed," Greenstock said in Ivory Coast. The delegation canceled a planned stop to Liberia for security reasons.

Nigeria has offered refuge to ousted leaders before, and hosted Somali President Mohammed Siad Barre for several years after he was ousted by warlords in 1991.

Some West African leaders have pushed for Taylor's indictment to be dropped in exchange for him stepping down. On Monday, they asked for 2,000 U.S. troops, and said they want an answer before President Bush arrives in Africa next week.

Bush called last week for the Liberian leader to cede power as Taylor promised last month. Bush did not indicate at the time whether he will send troops.

"We're actively discussing how best to support the international efforts to help Liberia return to peace and to the rule of law," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

At the United Nations, U.S. diplomats laid out three conditions for further discussion on Liberia: Taylor stepping down and turning himself over to the special court in Sierra Leone and a cease-fire the international community can support.