India braces for sectarian showdown

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India was set on the path of sectarian confrontation after the failure of negotiations aimed at resolving a bitter Hindu-Muslim row over a disputed religious site.

The central government now has four days to try to head off a showdown in the northern town of Ayodhya, where hardline Hindus plan to hold a symbolic ceremony Friday to mark the construction of a temple at the site of a razed mosque.

The Muslim board dismissed a compromise formula on the grounds that it was "incomplete and inchoate," although it later said it was willing to negotiate with anyone except Hindu extremists.

The militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP - World Hindu Council), which has been spearheading the temple construction campaign, responded with defiance, saying it would go ahead with Friday's ceremony.