Liberia hits back at diamond claims

The Liberian government has reacted angrily to a new United Nations report alleging it's involved in the sale of diamonds smuggled from Sierra Leone.

The report, published this week, accused Liberia of helping rebels in Sierra Leone sell diamonds to buy weapons.

A government statement issued in Monrovia repeated previous denials of the allegations: it described them as a deliberate attempt by the United States and Britain to destabilise the Liberian government and bring about the overthrow of President Charles Taylor.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service