Pretoria — President Thabo Mbeki says Liberian President Charles Taylor has confirmed to him that he will hand over the reigns to his deputy Moses Blah on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Pretoria following a meeting with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki in Pretoria today, President Mbeki said President Taylor had telephonically assured him of the imminent move.

'Yesterday President Charles Taylor called and said he is handing over government to the Vice-President on Monday,' he confirmed.

President Mbeki said Mr Blah would thereafter concentrate on forming a government of national unity that would include the rebel formations.

The President said Mr Taylor would leave the war-torn country for Nigeria after the installation of the government of national unity.

'He will leave as soon as possible after that, either the same day or after that,' he said.

President Taylor, who has been indicted of war crimes by the UN-backed Special Court for war crimes, has been under international pressure to leave Liberia to make way for a new administration.

However, he had said he was ready to leave for Nigeria, where President Olusegun Obasanjo had offered him asylum, after the arrival of peacekeeping forces.

Yesterday, a first batch of the expected 1 500 Nigerian troops landed in the country with more expected in the next few days.

President Mbeki said the latest developments would pave way for an improvement of the situation with the envisaged elections and the disarming of the militias.