MONROVIA, Liberia ? President Charles Taylor submitted his resignation and named his vice president to take over the reins of the embattled government Thursday as throngs cheered the first West African peacekeepers to enter the besieged capital.

Vice President Moses Blah said the handover was planned for Monday, but rebel leaders warned they would not accept any ally of Taylor holding power as Liberia tries to find a way out of 14 years of bloodshed.

Outside Monrovia, peacekeepers reportedly seized a new weapons shipment from Libya that apparently was destined for government forces in violation of a U.N. arms embargo.

Rebels and government troops are fighting in several parts of the country, and a two-month battle over Monrovia has killed hundreds of civilians and left the 1.3 million people crowded into the divided city short of food and water.

People poured into the streets when more than 100 Nigerian soldiers in the peacekeeping mission drove into the capital. “We want peace! No more war!” the crowds chanted.

The force’s first foray into Monrovia came as Congress formally endorsed Taylor’s letter of resignation and he designated the 56-year-old Blah to succeed him.

Despite a fearsome reputation as a former guerrilla general, Blah is a quiet, unassuming man who drives himself around Monrovia in a Jeep while other officials travel in flashy motorcades. He was trained as a mechanic and has traveled extensively.

Taylor indicated he would go into exile “very shortly,” said Blah, who was a feared Taylor ally in the 1988-96 civil war that killed 100,000 people and put Taylor in power over a nation left in ruins.

Residents in the Mamba Point area of the Liberian capital Monrovia wave as Nigerian peacekeeping forces travel past in a convoy of armored vehicles Thursday.