7 August 2003
Monrovia — Nigerian peacekeeping troops intercepted and detained a plane carrying over 10 tonnes of ammunitition for the forces of President Charles Taylor which landed at Robertsfield international airport before dawn on Thursday, military and diplomatic sources said.
Taylor and his military chief of staff, General Benjamin Yeaten, went personally to the airport to try and secure the release of the cargo, which consisted of ammunition for AK 47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, they added, but the Nigerian soldiers refused to hand it over.
The military source said the ammunition had been purchased overseas by Taylor's son Chucky Taylor in contravention of a UN arms embargo against Liberia and was originally due to be delivered by ship to the port of Buchanan.
However, following the capture of Buchanan by rebels of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) on July 28, it was offloaded at an undisclosed foreign port and was flown into Liberia instead, he added.
One diplomat who was aware of the incident expressed fears that Taylor's attempt to bring in more arms as he was on the verge of stepping down as president could upset efforts to establish a lasting ceasefire between his forces and the two rebel movements which now control about three quarters of Liberia.
The diplomat also expressed concern that the incident would damage Taylor's relationship with Nigeria, which is leading a West African peacekeeping force in Liberia and has offered Taylor political asylum once he steps down as president on Monday and goes into exile.
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