President Charles Taylor has been appointed by fellow African leaders to negotiate with Sierra Leone rebel leader Foday Sankoh about the release of 500 UN peacekeepers the rebels are holding. Taylot and Sankoh have long been on good terms. But Taylor has also benefited financially from the illegal diamond trade from rebel held diamond mines in Sierra Leone. It is possession of these diamond areas that is prolonging the civil war in Sierra Leone. Taylor will travel to Sierra Leone to meet with Sankoh.