Taylor blames US for ousting him

It was a goodbye that few would hear in his desperate, war-divided capital - preoccupied in the search for food, and without fuel to keep radio or TV stations on the air.

Two months of rebel sieges have left well over 1,000 civilians dead in the capital, as insurgents and Taylor's forces dueled with the city of 1.3 million as its battlefield. The war has left Taylor controlling little but downtown, referred to derisively by rebels as Taylor's "Federal Republic of Central Monrovia."

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At the request of West African leaders, Taylor has promised to leave Monday, then go into exile in Nigeria at some unspecified time.

Taylor made no apologies in Sunday's address - asking only forgiveness from any he may have wronged in what have been his years of carnage.

He compared his departure from the presidency to Jesus submitting himself to the Romans. He accused the United States of arming Liberia's rebels, calling it an "American war" and suggesting it was motivated by US eagerness for Liberia's gold, diamonds and other reserves.

"If I were the problem - which you know and I know I'm not - I would... become the sacrificial lamb," Taylor said. "I would become the whipping boy that you should live."

In Washington, a senior Bush administration official said he wasn't aware of a claim by Taylor about the United States and the rebels in Liberia, but that it would be false to claim the United States was arming or funding rebels.

Taylor, sitting solemnly with folded hands, recorded the address in front of a Liberian flag at his home, for broadcast on the evening before he was to hand power to Vice President Moses Blah on Monday.

"I do not stop out of fear. I do not stop out of fright. I stop out of love for you, my people," Taylor declared, adding, "I fought for you."

Speaking slowly, with a raspy voice, the Liberian leader declared: "I love this country very much. This is why I have decided to sacrifice my presidency."

"They can call off their dogs now." Taylor said. "We can have peace."

At least three West African heads of state, including South African President Thabo Mbeki, were expected for what Taylor's regime was trying to organise into an hours-long formal resignation ceremony.

By late Sunday, the speech had not been played on local radio in the unlit capital, shattered by shelling and littered with shrapnel, bullet casings and rubbish from looting by Taylor's forces.