AFP - Police on Saturday fired warning shots and teargas at supporters of Madagascar's ousted president Marc Ravalomanana as they rallied for a sixth consecutive day of protest, leaving 31 people injured.
   
Officers took action to prevent around 20,000 protestors who had gathered at gardens in the capital Antananarivo to march to another city square.
   
The May 13 Square to which they were headed was earlier the scene of protests by former opposition leader Andry Rajoelina that culminated in Ravalomanana's March 17 resignation.
   
Most of those hurt suffered injuries in a stampede sparked by the warning shots. Others had bullet wounds and were being treated at Antananarivo's main hospital, an AFP correspondent reported.
   
Saturday's rally attracted the largest number of protestors since the group opposing the current administration of Andry Rajoelina began city demonstrations on Monday.
   
Ravalomanana's supporters are demanding the return of their leader who resigned after the sustained campaign by his rival Rajoelina who accused him of running a dictatorship while the people starved.
   
Last weekend, the 34-year-old Rajoelina was sworn in as the Indian Ocean island's transitional leader, but Ravalomanana, United States and the European Union have said his takeover was a coup.
   
The African Union has also suspended the crisis-stricken nation from the 53-member body.
   
And like Rajoelina's protests, some government officials at Saturday's rally called for a general strike to begin Monday.
   
Rajoelina, who was sacked as Antananarivo mayor in February, had led a three-month campaign against Ravalomanana, with some of the protests turning violent as security forces clamped down on demonstrators.
   
Some 100 people died in the protests which were put down by security forces. The victims included 28 people were shot dead by Ravalomana's guards on February 7 as they attempted to march to his office.
   
With the army abandoning him and siding with his rival, Ravalomanana, 59 resigned and handed power to a military authority which in turn gave Rajoelina the reigns of the vast island.
   
Ravalomanana fled to Swaziland after his ouster, but on Thursday left the country for South Africa.
   
Swaziland will on Monday host the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit to decide on sanctions against Rajoelina's administration. Madagascar is a member of the regional bloc.
   
After taking power, Rajoelina promptly suspended parliament and said fresh elections might take two years to organise, drawing a barrage of criticism from Western donors.
   
But on Tuesday, the transitional government announced that political parties would in April be invited to a national forum in order to arrange for a presidential election.