Monrovia, Mar 08: Investigators at Sierra Leone's UN-backed special court on war crimes have searched the Monrovia residence and offices of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, a spokeswoman for the court said. The court has indicted Taylor, now living in exile in Nigeria, on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting Sierra Leone's rebels during the former British colony's 10-year civil war. Taylor has denied the charges. Investigators from the court's prosecutor office, police officers with Liberia's united nations force and Liberian officials jointly conducted the searches on Friday and Saturday, spokeswoman Alison Cooper said yesterday by phone from Sierra Leone's capital Freetown.

A statement from the court said the investigators were looking for information to ''further support strong evidence that led to Taylor's indictment'' last year. It said the charges against Taylor included ''murder, rape and terrorism''. Witnesses said the investigators left Taylor's residence in Monrovia's Congo town neighbourhood with bags full of documents on Saturday. Cooper said she could not comment.

Bureau Report