Antananarivo  - Madagascar's opposition leader Andry Rajoelina said Wednesday he would boycott peace talks planned for Thursday aimed at ending the violent standoff with President Marc Ravalomanana.

Rajoelina told Western diplomats he and other opposition groups would boycott the talks with government and civic groups that the Council for Christian Churches of Madagascar is organizing on behalf of the United Nations.

Antananarivo - Mutinous soldiers from a key army barracks in Madagascar demanded that President Marc Ravalomanana recall the troops that have been deployed on the streets of the capital for weeks, local newspapers reported Tuesday.

The soldiers at the Capsat barracks in Antananarivo, which stores most of the army's weaponry, were addressing a press conference Monday, two days after they began a mutiny against embattled President Marc Ravalomanana.

Antananarivo - The African Union (AU) has ordered Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana to restore order and stability to the troubled island within two weeks or forfeit the AU summit the country was scheduled to hold in July, local newspapers reported Thursday.

The ultimatum issued by AU envoy Amara Essy came as security forces clashed with opposition demonstration for the second day running Thursday in the narrow streets of the capital Antananarivo.

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 was preparing to return 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.