Liberia President Agrees to Resign : Demands Personal and Tribal Safety as Fighting Rages

President Samuel K. Doe has agreed in principle to resign as rebels attacking the capital of Monrovia battle troops in the city’s eastern and western suburbs, political sources said today.

Doe was told to resign today by a delegation of close aides and politicians, the sources added.

The Liberian president said he will step down on condition his safety and that of his minority Krahn tribe are guaranteed, the sources said.

Earlier, U.S. officials said they believed that Doe’s government could collapse in a matter of days.

The officials, asking not to be identified, said in Washington that there had been a number of desertions from the elite unit that protects Doe and that his hold on power was becoming more precarious by the day.

Two officials said Doe’s ouster could come before the weekend. He has ruled Liberia for more than a decade.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said there was fighting on both sides of the St. Paul River in addition to the combat northeast of Monrovia. The fighting was inhibiting communications out of Liberia.

Meanwhile, a rebel source reached by telephone from neighboring Ivory Coast said that about 800 rebels of Liberia’s National Patriotic Front have begun an attack on Monrovia and that several thousand more are approaching to “put an end” to Doe and his government.

The source, based near the Liberian border, said rebel leader Charles Taylor was at the front directing attacks on the Liberian capital. Taylor launched his rebellion last Christmas Eve, reportedly with help from Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. It is not known whether Kadafi has provided any assistance recently.

At the Pentagon, spokesman Pete Williams said a Navy task force is standing “over the horizon” off Liberia ready to evacuate the estimated 795 Americans in Liberia if requested to do so by the State Department.

“We’re considering all options, but a decision to evacuate has not yet been made,” said Boucher at the State Department. There were no reports of injury to any Americans.

Officials have said the U.S. government is prepared to evacuate Doe if it is asked to do so. They said Togo, also in West Africa, has agreed to receive Doe if he is forced out of Liberia.

Boucher said Monrovia is without water, electricity or telephone service. All main roads out of the capital are cut. Most of Doe’s Cabinet and other senior administration officials have fled. Liberian and diplomatic sources said Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Henry Dubar resigned during the weekend. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was in effect.

Doe has offered a national unity government with participation by Taylor’s group, but the rebel leader has rejected the proposal. Taylor has repeatedly demanded that Doe resign before he and the rebels will stop their advance.

There also have been official U.S. contacts with Taylor, a former Liberian government official who infiltrated the country six months ago with a small band of followers.

Taylor has informed the U.S. envoys that if his movement ousts Doe, he will promote democracy and respect human rights.