By Paul Welsh BBC West African correspondent in Abidjan

The brother of an Ivory Coast politician who defected to the rebels this week has been found shot dead.

The politician is a former close colleague of President Laurent Gbagbo.

His brother was taken from his work place on Thursday.

Meanwhile peace talks continue to try to find a settlement to the seven-week-old conflict.

Disappearing

On Thursday, Benoit Dacoury-Tabley was taken from the clinic in Abidjan where he worked as a doctor.

He was reportedly taken by uniformed men.

Police say he died of gunshot wounds and that they are investigating.

Barely a night goes by without reports of people disappearing or being killed in this city.

Benoit Dacoury-Tabley was the brother of Louis, who left the government party to join the rebel political movement, earlier this week.

He had not been close to President Gbagbo for some time, and recently criticised the government.

But originally he was a co-founder of the Ivorian Popular Front with Mr Gbagbo in opposition, and his deputy then.

There may be no fighting between government and rebels at the moment but this is not a place at peace.

Negotiations which are still underway in nearby Togo, show no signs of huge steps forward, although the mediators are expected to put another document to both sides later on Friday.

Preparations are well underway for any breakdown.

The government has been practising with the two new helicopter gunships that it has brought in from abroad.