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ANTANANARIVO, June 17 (AFP) - Fighting between forces loyal to Madagascar's two rival leaders rocked the northwest of the Indian Ocean island at the weekend, witnesses and military sources said Monday.

The fighting came as President Marc Ravalomananana dissolved his government in a bid to end the six-month-old political crisis that has brought the country to the brink of ruin.

Troops loyal to Ravalomanana clashed at the weekend with backers of former long-time ruler Didier Ratsiraka in Ambanja, 900 kilometers (550 miles) northwest of the capital Antananarivo, where the new president on Sunday dissolved his government, paving the way for an end to the worst crisis in Madagascar's history.

An officer on Ravalomanana's side said Monday that some soldiers had been injured in the fighting at the weekend, while aides to Ratsiraka -- who is currently in France -- said the former leader's side had inflicted "numerous losses" on the opposing camp.

Independent confirmation of casualties was not available Monday morning.

The fighting started Saturday, when Ravalomanana's forces set off from Antsohihy, 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Amganja, to march on Antsiranana, the capital of the province by the same name.

The president's men had on Friday captured two capitals of four renegade pro-Ratsiraka provinces that had threatened to secede if Ravalomanana was sworn in as head of state last month -- Mahajanga in the northwest and Toliara in the south.

They met with no resistance in those two cities, but feared that Antsiranana, which is heavily defended by backers of Ratsiraka, would put up serious resistance.

The authorities in Antsiranana sent soldiers and militiamen to stop Ravalomanana's troops advancing on the provincial capital. The two sides met at a bridge on the Sambirano River, two kilometers (1 mile) south of Ambanja.

The clashes continued all day Saturday before dissipating Sunday morning.

According to residents in Ambanja, troops fired mortars and rockets during the combat and dropped grenades from a helicopter on a house in which pro-Ratsiraka militiamen were said to be taking shelter.

One witness said the town was still in the hands of Ratsiraka's troops on Monday morning, with the president's forces blocked at the bridge just south of Ambanja.

On Sunday, Ravalomanana, riding high on his territorial gains, dissolved his government, paving the way for the formation of a transitional broad-based administration that is likely to include supporters of Ratsiraka. -Nampa-AFP

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