Ousted Liberian Prez Wanted Man

Interpol put ousted Liberian leader Charles Taylor on its most-wanted list Thursday, issuing a "red notice" calling for his arrest on war crimes charges in Sierra Leone's civil war.

The wanted notice, posted on Interpol's Web site, said he was sought for "crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions."

Attached was a photo of Taylor in a suit and tie and a warning in bold type: "Person may be dangerous."

"If you have any information contact your national or local police," the notice said.

Interpol's "red notices" allow arrest warrants to be circulated to the international police organization's 181-member nations, with a request that the wanted person be arrested for extradition. The warrant for Taylor's arrest came from Sierra Leone, where a U.N.-backed court has indicted him for alleged war crimes.

While the notices cannot force countries to arrest or extradite a suspect, they announce that the Lyon, France-based police body is satisfied that an arrest is justified. The "red notice" status puts Taylor on Interpol's equivalent of a most-wanted list.

Taylor, 55, "is sought in the entire world," an Interpol official told The Associated Press. She would not give other details about the warrant or her name.

Taylor has lived in exile in southern Nigeria since early August, when he fled under international pressure as rebels laid siege to the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

The Sierra Leone court said Interpol's wanted notice "will serve as a reminder that Charles Taylor remains a fugitive from justice" and that there is "no amnesty for war crimes or crimes against humanity."

The civil war in Sierra Leone, which borders Liberia, began in 1991. Forces from the United Nations, Britain and Guinea crushed the Sierra Leone rebels, and the war was declared over in early 2002.

The court said Taylor faces a 17-count indictment on war crimes and crimes against humanity, including terrorizing civilian populations, unlawful killings, sexual violence, physical violence, use of child soldiers, abductions, forced labor, looting and burning, and attacks on peacekeeping personnel.

In Nigeria, presidential spokeswoman Remi Oyo said she was unaware of the Interpol arrest request. But she reiterated that President Olusegun Obasanjo "has explained that he will not allow Nigeria to be intimidated" into handing Taylor over to Sierra Leone's court.

Taylor, a former rebel, launched Liberia into 14 years of conflict in 1989 by leading an insurgency to overthrow the government. He was elected president by a war-weary populace in 1997, and rebels took up arms against him two years later, laying siege to the capital in June

Taylor is not the first national leader to be sought by Interpol.

The police body has also issued a "red notice" for former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori fled to Japan amid a corruption scandal that toppled his government in November 2000.

Peruvian prosecutors want him to face charges ranging from corruption to authorizing death squad murders. Japan has denied extradition requests so far, saying Fujimori is protected by Japanese citizenship extended to him as the son of Japanese-born parents.