First witnesses to testify against Liberia's Taylor

The trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor on charges of directing atrocities in Sierra Leone resumed in The Hague on Monday with prosecutors due to call their first witnesses to the stand.

Taylor, once one of Africa's most feared warlords, faces charges of rape, murder, mutilation and recruitment of child soldiers at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, set up to try those most responsible for the 1991-2002 conflict.

The 59-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

A relaxed-looking Taylor appeared in the courtroom wearing a dark suit and tie.

"This is an important test for international justice ... it will have ramifications throughout the world," Prosecutor Stephen Rapp had said at a briefing on Friday of the trial he hopes will end decades of impunity for African strongmen.

"There have been other cases involving chiefs of state that have not gone well ... But I am confident that we can present the case and show that it is possible to hold a chief of state responsible in a fair and just trial."

More than quarter of a million people were killed in intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone which shocked the world with stories and images of child soldiers high on drugs, killing, raping and looting.

Taylor is accused of trying to gain control of Sierra Leone's mineral wealth, particularly its diamond mines, and seeking to destabilise its government by supplying the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels.

Prosecutors have said their first witness will be an expert on the trade in conflict diamonds, followed by a victim of the violence in Sierra Leone, and then an insider once close to Taylor's regime.

In Sierra Leone, a generation of civilian amputees -- their hands or legs hacked off by rebels -- are a painful reminder of the cruelty of the conflict, in which drugged rebels and militias, often child soldiers, killed, raped and maimed.

The trial is being held in The Hague because of fears it could spur instability if held in Sierra Leone.

Prosecutors intend to call 144 witnesses but hope half of them can submit their testimony in writing, allowing the prosecuting team to wrap up their case in around 8 months.

They expect a judgment by the end of 2009, though an appeal would likely stretch into 2010.

Taylor boycotted the opening of his trial last June in a dispute over the resources allocated to his defence, prompting legal wrangling and repeated delays.

More funds were eventually made available to Taylor and a new defence team was appointed in July.

The former strongman is receiving legal aid despite suspicions he amassed a considerable personal fortune.

In the past, ousted African dictators have often fled overseas to live out their days unpunished. Taylor found exile in Nigeria after being overthrown in 2003, but was later handed to the court under international pressure.