The besieged Malagasy president, Marc Ravalomanana, appeared headed out of office on Tuesday after opposition leader Andry Rajoelina took over a presidential palace which soldiers loyal to him had seized overnight.

Reuters news agency reported being told by an unnamed aide to Ravalomanana, who was occupying another palace, that he was about to resign. The BBC said it had received a text message, also from an aide, saying: "Apparently the president is handing over to the military and is going to make a declaration."

Agence France-Presse quoted an unidentified diplomat as saying the same, and the Malagasy news website, Sobika.com, said a local radio station had reported that the United States had guaranteed Ravalomanana's safety.

Ravalomanana has been isolated for some days in a presidential palace on the outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman told AFP that the president had told members of the presidential guard who remained loyal to him that "I am staying with you and if I have to die, I will die with you."

Meanwhile, Rajoelina entered the city centre palace which had been seized on Monday night. Reports of Ravalomanana's resignation began to filter out mid-afternoon, in spite of earlier denials from his office, and a strong statement issued late on Monday which declared that anyone who recognised Rajoelina was supporting a coup d'etat.

"The streets might be a suitable place for protest but they cannot be recognised as a place for the formation of a government," the statement said.