Former Liberian president Charles Taylor left Sierra Leone today, a war crimes court spokesman said, apparently heading to The Hague, Netherlands, for a long-awaited trial on charges of allegedly backing brutal rebels in Sierra Leone.

Trial in Africa is too risky for a man accused of fomenting bloodshed across West Africa, international prosecutors said in requesting that Charles Taylor’s trial for crimes against humanity be moved to The Hague in the Netherlands.

Trial in Africa is apparently too risky for a man accused of fomenting war across west Africa – and believed to have the support and money to create more trouble.