Antananarivo, Madagascar  - African Union (AU) envoy Amary Essy said he was sceptical a quick and peaceful solution to the armed conflict on Madagascar was possible, news reports said Wednesday.

Essy expressed his concerns after meeting with Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina, the self-appointed president of an opposition interim government on the island, the newspaper L'Express said.

The AU envoy had travelled to the island, where a summit of the regional gathering is planned for early July, in February to assess the situation.

Antananarivo - Two more people were killed in Madagascar where the military opened fire during another opposition demonstration, this time in the southern city of Fiarantoa, reports said Saturday.

In one incident, the military had opened fire on protestors calling for a change in government, allegedly killing one and injuring several others.

In another incident, a soldier was alleged to have fired shots from a military truck as it was driving through the city, killing the janitor of a public toilet who was watching the protest.

The bodies of the two victims were shown on television.

Antananarivo - The opposition in Madagascar returned to the streets Thursday following the breakdown in talks between President Marc Ravalomanana and opposition leader Andry Rajoelina on the island's month-long political crisis.

Rajoelina, the sacked mayor of the capital Antananarivo, announced Wednesday he was breaking off the talks after Ravalomanana ducked a meeting with him in order to meet with representatives of the military in two regional towns.

Antananarivo  - Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana and opposition leader Andry Rajoelina were set to hold substantive negotiations on the island's month-long political crisis Monday after agreeing at the weekend to avoid further confrontation.

At their first meeting Saturday, the two rivals vowed to try to defuse the tensions that have claimed over 100 lives on the Indian Ocean island since late January when the opposition began a series of mass demonstrations over Ravalomanana's rule.

Antananarivo - Madagascar opposition leader Andry Rajoelina announced Saturday that he would be meeting President Marc Ravalomanana following several days of mediation by church leaders.

Former Antananarivo mayor Rajoelina told a rally of some 10,000 supporters on the capital's historic May 13 Square that the meeting would go ahead later Saturday at a "neutral location" in the presence of church mediators.

He confirmed that he was prepared to take part in the meeting, and would convey the result to supporters on Sunday at a public church service.

Antananarivo - Madagascar's military on Friday denied having killed any opposition supporters overnight, following reports that several demonstrators were killed during a security operation to retake four government ministries seized by protestors.

The military said no-one had been killed but that around 50 people were arrested when troops and riot police evicted a group of opposition supporters from ministry buildings in the capital Antananarivo in the early hours of Friday morning.

Several Malagasy radio stations reported that eight people had been shot dead by the military.