Antananarivo - Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana on Wednesday quashed hopes for a speedy end to the standoff between him and the capital's mayor Andre Rajoelina by ruling out talks with the politician who has sorely tested his grip on power in recent days.

During a tour of the state radio station in Antananarivo that opposition protesters looted and torched following a mass rally called by Rajoelina Monday Ravalomanana said he had no intention of heeding calls by Western diplomats for the two foes to meet.

The president further accused the nephew of the ex-president he ousted in 2002, Didier Ratsiraka, of being behind two days of unprecedented looting in the capital, during which dozens of people lost their lives.

Roland Ratsiraka, mayor of the eastern port city of Toamasina, ran against Ravalomanana for president in 2002 but came in only third.

Ravalomanana also vowed security would be restored to the island after ordering his security forces Monday not to intervene, even as hundreds of opposition supporters went on the rampage, looting and burning two broadcasting stations and shops.

On Tuesday the looting took a tragic turn when 25 people burned to death, apparently when they were trying to steal clothes from a burning shopping mall in central Antananarivo.

The police have vowed to deal harshly with the looters. The pro- opposition Radio Antsiva, the only radio still on air in the capital, said security forces shot dead several looters Tuesday, in Antananarivo and the southwestern city of Tulear. No independent confirmation was available as yet.

The radio puts at nearly 70 the number of dead since Monday, mostly during looting. Radio France Internationale says at least 34 people have died, including two opposition protestors gunned down by police following Monday's demonstration.

Rajoelina on Tuesday gave the killing of a 14-year-old opposition supporter as his reason for not wanting to meet the president.

The violence is the worst since Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka fought for control of the island after disputed elections in 2001 that Ravalomanana said he won outright.

Relations between the state and Rajoelina soured in December after the state shut down a radio and television station owned by the mayor for broadcasting an interview with the elder, exiled Ratsiraka.

The opposition is accusing Ravalomana of sliding into authoritarianism and of being out of touch with the plight of ordinary people.

Madagascar is one of the world's poorest countries, where most eke out an existence from subsistence farming.

The president's vast business interests - he owns the country's biggest food company, a road construction company, a chain of supermarkets and a TV station - have sparked resentment and made his businesses a prime target for looters. (dpa)