THE HAGUE, June 4 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Charles Taylor, 59, former president of Liberia and one of Africa's most feared warlords, will stand trial in The Hague on Monday on war crimes charges. Here are some facts about Taylor:
* Taylor was born in January 1948 to a family of Americo-Liberians -- a small but traditionally powerful group descended from the freed slaves who founded the West African country of Liberia in the 19th century.
* A devout Christian who studied in the United States and enjoys playing tennis, Taylor has a trademark outfit of a white suit and a cane.
* Taylor worked for Liberian President Samuel Doe running the General Services Agency, a position that gave him control of much of Liberia's budget. Doe accused him in 1983 of embezzling almost $1 million and he fled to the United States.
* Jailed by the US authorities for embezzlement, Taylor escaped from his Massachusetts cell in 1985 after a year. He resurfaced in Ivory Coast and launched a rebellion in 1989 to topple Doe.
* The war ended in 1996 with 200,000 dead. Taylor became president after a campaign memorable for the macabre unofficial anthem: "You killed my ma, you killed my pa. I'll vote for you."
* Taylor's foes rose again and he fled into exile in Nigeria in 2003 with rebels camped in Liberia's capital Monrovia and US President George W Bush demanding he leave.
* Taylor is known simply as "Pappy" by a generation of child soldiers who went into battle on a cocktail of marijuana and amphetamines and were led by self-appointed generals with names such as "Peanut Butter", "Bad Boy" and "Butt Naked".
* The court indicted Taylor in March 2003 on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity but condensed the charges to 11 counts in March 2006 to ensure a more focused trial.
* The charges at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone include acts of terrorism, murder, rape, enslavement, conscripting child soldiers, sexual slavery, pillage and outrages upon personal dignity. He has pleaded not guilty.
* Taylor was moved to The Hague in June 2006 due to fears a trial in Freetown could spur unrest in Sierra Leone or Liberia. He will serve his jail sentence in Britain if he is convicted in The Hague.
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