Charles Taylor To step down
Liberia's President, Charles Taylor, said today he had agreed to step down but urged the world to send peacekeepers to prevent chaos in the aftermath.
A senior Nigerian official said the former warlord had accepted an offer of asylum.
He is suspected of instigating a tangle of West African conflicts and and is wanted by a war crimes court in Sierra Leone.
Mr Taylor's departure has been called essential for peace by US President George W Bush, who is to visit Africa next week.
Mr Bush is considering sending troops to help end nearly 14 years of non-stop violence in Liberia.
The Liberian President has been under growing pressure to quit since 700 people were killed last month in rebel attacks on Monrovia.
The insurgents hold nearly two-thirds of the country.
