The United Nations Security Council is stepping up pressure on Liberia to freeze the assets of accused former president Charles Taylor.
The 15-member Council on Friday approved a resolution on sanctions that aim to eliminate funds for conflicts through the sale of illegally mined diamonds.
Taylor allegedly used profits from so-called "blood diamonds" to fund years of civil war in Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone.
The former Liberian president is facing 11 charges for allegedly instigating a rebel campaign of rape, murder and mutilation in neighboring Sierra Leone that killed more than 100,000 people during a decade-long civil war, which started in the late 1990s.
Taylor is currently on trial for war crimes in the Hague, the Netherlands.
The court has set February 8 for the prosecution and defense to start their concluding arguments.
UN Pushes Liberia to Freeze Assets of Accused Warlord
