EU suspends Liberia aid

Sierra Leone's diamond-fuelled conflict creates many refugees

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to a British request to suspend aid to Liberia because of its support for rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

If we are to secure lasting peace and stability in Sierra Leone, we must be able to stem the flow of illicit weapons to the rebels in that country from outside

UK Foreign Office Minister Keith Vaz

A package of development aid worth £35m will be held back as a signal to the the West African state that it should cut its trading links with the Revolutionary United Front rebels.

The suspension follows UK allegations that Liberian President Charles Taylor sells guns to the RUF, which still holds large parts of Sierra Leone, in return for diamonds.

The long running conflict in Sierra Leone has been financed by diamonds, and has largely been about who controls the country's diamond mines.

Charles Taylor: Profiting from the Sierra Leone war

Regional analysts say dealing with Liberia is the key to resolving the conflict, which has seen tens of thousands killed and mutilated.

Over the last two years, the value of official annual diamond exports by Sierra Leone has halved to $30m.

But in the same period, diamond exports by Liberia - a country which possesses relatively few diamond fields - has risen dramatically to $300m.

EU warning

The money for Liberia will be delayed until the European Union is convinced that the assistance given to the rebels has stopped.

The UK is a key ally of the Sierra Leone Government

After a meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers also gave a blunt warning that all EU policy towards Liberia would in future take account of Liberian behaviour with regard to Sierra Leone.

However the ministers also said they acknowledged the responsible role which President Taylor had played in the release of the UN detainees held by the Sierra Leonean rebels.

Our correspondent says there appears to be some hope that President Taylor can be persuaded to change policy and, as the ministers put it, to contribute to a solution to the crisis in Sierra Leone.

Attack planned?

Meanwhile, senior Liberian politicians say that Liberian dissidents operating across the border in Sierra Leone are planning to attack Liberia.

Charles Taylor secured the release of 500 UN peacekeepers captured by RUF rebels

Defence Minister Daniel Chea said the dissidents - members of the defunct Ulimo rebel group and remnants of the former Liberian army - have been fighting alongside pro-government forces in Sierra Leone in the civil war there.

Newspaper reports in Liberia quote the head of the ruling party, John Whitfield, as saying that 7,000 dissidents were poised to attack Liberia from three neighbouring countries.

There has been no independent verification of the reports.