US pledge on Africa terror

The president and his wife visited an Abuja hospital

US President George W Bush has completed a five-nation tour of Africa by warning that terrorists will not be permitted to operate out of the continent.

"We will not allow terrorists to threaten the people of Africa, or use Africa as a base to threaten the world," he told reporters following talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja with President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The United States has already established a military presence in the Horn of Africa as part of its drive to prevent the al-Qaeda network from spreading its influence in the region.

Efforts to bring peace to Liberia, the Aids crisis in Africa and trade links between the US and Nigeria were also on the agenda at the Abuja meeting.

Mr Bush repeated his demand that Liberian President Charles Taylor must step down to avert a bloodbath there.

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Nigeria is leading efforts to establish a peacekeeping force in Liberia, where a fragile ceasefire is holding between government and rebel fighters.

The US, which has strong historical links with the country, has yet to announce what role it is prepared to play.

West African leaders have asked Mr Bush to send troops to Liberia.

"I told the president we'd be active," Mr Bush said before flying back to Washington. "The definition of that will be when we understand all the parameters."

The BBC's Barnaby Phillips in Abuja says Africans who doubt Mr Bush's commitment will point to his apparent reluctance to send peacekeeping troops to Liberia.

Aids programme

Mr Bush paid tribute to President Obasanjo's leadership on the issues of Liberia and fighting Aids, and said he looked forward to trading and working with Nigeria.

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At-a-glance

Before Saturday's talks, Mr Bush and his wife Laura visited a hospital in Abuja and met beneficiaries of a US-funded programme to help prevent women from passing HIV to their children during childbirth.

But our correspondent says Mr Bush's trip has been superficial and difficult issues have been avoided.

Some wanted Mr Bush to raise the issue of human rights abuses in Nigeria with President Obasanjo, as well as the conduct of elections earlier this year, which most foreign observers said were fraudulent.

Nigeria's huge oil reserves and relative military strength in West Africa make it an important strategic ally for the US and a country Mr Bush cannot ignore.