Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations Security Council voted 12 to 0 to authorize deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force to Liberia, clearing the way for the arrival of Nigerian troops on Monday and the possible participation of U.S. soldiers.

Council members France, Germany and Mexico abstained from the vote because they opposed a provision in the U.S.-drafted resolution that gives any American troops that serve in Liberia immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The U.S. is concerned about politically motivated indictments for war crimes or similar offenses.

As many as 1,500 Nigerian soldiers are due to begin arriving on Monday, ahead of 2,000 West African soldiers responsible for enforcing a June 17 cease-fire between government troops and rebel factions. The insurgents are seeking to overthrow President Charles Taylor, who has accepted an offer of exile in Nigeria as part of a plan to end the war.

``Peacekeepers on the ground will secure the environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance,'' U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte told the Security Council. ``Their presence will support implementation of the cease-fire agreement, including establishing conditions for the initial stages of disarmament and demobilization activities. They will safeguard security in the wake of Charles Taylor's departure.''

The resolution, which doesn't mention involvement of U.S. soldiers, calls for the African force's eventual replacement by UN troops and for Taylor's ``immediate'' departure. It asks Secretary- General Kofi Annan to submit a plan for a UN mission to Liberia by Aug. 15 and for deployment of UN troops by Oct. 1.

New Fighting

The vote comes amid reports that Taylor left the capital of Monrovia, forcing the postponement of a meeting with West African envoys who planned to urge him to step down, and that at least nine people died in new fighting.

Ghana's foreign minister, Addo Akudo Addo, said the envoys were told Taylor had traveled southeast to the port of Buchanan because fighting was going on there between his forces and rebels, Agence France-Presse reported. Addo, among the group of envoys who arrived in Monrovia today, said a meeting with Taylor would ``definitely'' take place tomorrow.

Four children were among those killed when a mortar round struck a house near the city's Old Bridge area, the Associated Press reported, citing unidentified aid workers. The violence ended a period of calm that lasted one day, after the arrival of a 10-member advance team of West African peacekeepers.

The UN reported cholera is ``rampant'' in Monrovia and that there are severe shortages of food, water and fuel.

Transitional Government

The resolution urges all rebel forces to ``refrain'' from seeking power by force once Taylor is gone and to agree to an ``all-inclusive political framework'' for a transitional government until elections are held.

Bush last week ordered Marines to positions off the Liberian coast, saying they won't go ashore until there is a cease-fire and Taylor is gone. Bush has described the U.S. involvement as support for the West African force.

The U.S. has pledged $10 million to support peacekeeping forces in Liberia, and UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said the world body would contribute as much as $10 million.

Taylor, who is charged with war crimes by a UN-backed court in neighboring Sierra Leone, led the National Patriotic Front in a seven-year civil war that ended in 1997. He became president of Liberia in 1999.

Freed American slaves founded the country of about 3.3 million people in 1847.

The U.S. hasn't signed the treaty that created the International Criminal Court, which is being organized at The Hague, and the Bush administration has sought to include protection of American troops in other UN resolutions. Most Security Council members, who have signed the treaty, have fought those exemptions.

Opposition to Resolution

The resolution says that troops serving in Liberia who are from nations that haven't signed the treaty are ``subject to the exclusive jurisdiction'' of their governments.

``It does not establish a commitment on the part of troop- contributing countries to try officials who may have committed offenses,'' Mexican Ambassador Adolfo Zinser said in explaining his nation's opposition to the paragraph in the resolution protecting U.S. troops from prosecution by the court.

``It limits jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court,'' German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger said of the immunity provision. ``There is no precedent for this and no justification.''

Amnesty International added its voice to the opposition, issuing a statement that says the U.S. resolution runs counter to international law by preventing accountability for war crimes.

``The gross violations that continue to be committed in Liberia amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,'' the statement said. ``The international community, which united to create the International Criminal Court, has reinforced the international obligation that the perpetrators of such crimes, whoever they are, must be held accountable.''