Taylor's troops launched a blistering attack Saturday to drive rebels back from three bridges in Monrovia and retake the port, but by the end of a torrid, see-saw day at the front, the government offensive had been repulsed.

The battle raged just a couple of miles from where the president met West Africa's top diplomat along with ministers from three countries in the region to discuss Taylor's departure from the war-torn nation.

Under pressure from the United States to quit and hemmed in by rebels bent on ousting the former warlord, Taylor chose the sixth anniversary of his inauguration as Liberia's president to say he would resign on August 11.

But no date was set for Taylor's departure from the country, something President Bush has said needs to happen for Liberia to find peace after nearly 14-years of civil war, and a goal the rebels have been fighting for three years to attain.

"The most important thing is that everything that we have said about resigning and leaving will happen," Taylor told reporters when asked what date he would leave the country.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed by mortar bombs and bullets, caught in the crossfire during two weeks of fighting between rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy and Taylor loyalists.