A plane that was intercepted on its way to Madagascar has left Tanzania for France.

The 10 passengers were allegedly mercenaries on their way to support Didier Ratsiraka, who has been claiming the Malagasy presidency from his rival, Marc Ravalomanana.

Ravalomanana's camp is fighting in Ratsiraka's northern stronghold

Mr Ratsiraka, who was president for more than two decades, left Madagascar for France last week after months of political instability following a disputed presidential election last December.

The BBC's Jonny Donovan in the Madagascan capital, Antananarivo, says that neither side is willing to say whether the incident will have an impact on their participation in talks aiming at resolving the conflict which are scheduled to take place in Ethiopia on Friday.

Rumours

The jet was travelling to Madagascar from Egypt with 10 passengers and three crew members when technical problems forced it to land in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday evening.

The correspondent of the BBC's Swahili service in Dar es Salaam described the group as unusually strong-looking men who could pass for commandoes.

The men are believed to be French nationals, but other sources spoke of several nationalities.

Ratsiraka does not accept Ravalomanana's election

While the plane was being checked, officials at the airport received orders from Madagascar that the plane would not be allowed to land in Antananarivo.

Sources from within the military loyal to Marc Ravalomanana claim the mercenaries were sent to lead militia groups in the Ratsiraka camp, currently engaged in fighting Mr Ravalomanana's forces in the north of the country.

But Mr Ratsiraka's chief advisor, Jose Andrianoelison, has denied any association between the government and the plane, claiming the use of mercenaries goes against Mr Ratsiraka's principles.

Our correspondent in Antananarivo says that rumours have been circulating for months about mercenaries landing in Madagascar from countries such as Algeria and Libya to lend support to either camp.

But he says that the anonymous sources which have provided details about the latest twist in the crisis should be taken more seriously as they are more reliable.

Meanwhile, reports say Didier Ratsiraka will return to Madagascar by the end of the week.

Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema was quoted by the French news agency AFP as saying that Mr Ratsiraka had told him he would travel back home to press for a second round in the presidential election.