TEGUCIGALPA, July 5 (Xinhua) --
Hundreds of police and soldiers on Sunday sealed the streets leading to
Toncontin Airport, in Honduras capital Tegucigalpa, ahead of the arrival of
coup-toppled President Manuel Zelaya.
Police and soldiers block the airstrip
of the Toncontin international airport to prevent the landing of a plane
carrying Honduras' ousted president Manuel Zelaya in Tegucigalpa July 5,
2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
All road traffic to the airport has been halted since
the early hours of Sunday. Army troops fired tear gas to break up Zelaya's
supporters, and two protesters were killed and several more were injured in the
clashes.
Zelaya said on Saturday that he plans to return to
the nation with regional presidents and a commission from the Organization of
American States (OAS) to reclaim the presidency.
Earlier on Sunday, Enrique Ortez Colindrez, the
foreign minister of the post-coup government, said no airport in the country is
permitted to take Zelaya's plane.
Several of the region's major
airlines -- American Airlines, Taca and Delta have suspended flights to Tegucigalpa, the
nation's civil aviation chief said.
The Venezuelan airplane carrying ousted
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya overflies Toncontin international airport
in Tegucigalpa. At least half a dozen military vehicles blocked the only
runway at the airport preventing Zelaya's landing while tens of thousands
of his supporters demonstrated outside. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
In so doing, the interim government was trying to
prevent bloodshed as Zelaya would be arrested if he landed in the country, Ortez
said.
Zelaya left from the U.S. capital of Washington
earlier on Sunday in an attempt to return home. He was in a small jet plane
followed by another aircraft carrying delegation from the OAS and the presidents
of Argentina and Paraguay.
His plane circled above the Toncontin Airport, unable
to land as the runway was blocked by soldiers with military vehicles.
Zelaya was forced to land in neighboring Nicaragua
and vowed to try again Monday or Tuesday to return to the country.
"Faced with this situation, we have to go on with
what we had planned," he told the Telesur news channel from the plane.
Zelaya's supporters took the streets around the airport
starting early morning. Witnesses said up to 30,000 people appeared around the airport.
Supporters of ousted Honduran President,
Manuel Zelaya, clash with riot squad officers during a protest against the
military coup near Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
On Sunday afternoon, demonstrators broke a police
cordon and entered the airport facilities. Several witnesses told Xinhua that
soldiers threw tear gas grenades into the crowd, and demonstrators fought back
with sticks and bottles.
"Police are firing live rounds," a photographer with
the La Tribuna newspaper told Xinhua by telephone. Two died and several more
were injured in the violence. One young Zelaya supporter died after being shot
in the head. Protesters said a teenage girl was also killed.
People in Tegucigalpa are busy buying fuel and food,
as anxiety rises over the uncertainties of the country's political future.
Zelaya was ousted last Sunday, when hundreds of armed
and hooded soldiers broke into the presidential palace and seized him from the
bed. They forced the president aboard a plane and sent him to Costa Rica.
Hours later, Congress speaker Roberto Micheletti was
appointed interim president. Micheletti said scheduled presidential elections
will go ahead on Nov. 29 and he will hand power to the new president on Jan. 27,
2010.
TEGUCIGALPA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The Honduran interim
government on Sunday voiced its willingness to have talks with the Organization
of American States (OAS) after a June 28 coup that ousted President Manuel
Zelaya has put the two sides at odds. Full story
Supporters of ousted Honduran President,
Manuel Zelaya, clash with soldiers during a protest against the military
coup near Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya headed
back to crisis-gripped Honduras on Sunday, one week after he was kicked
out of power and as interim leaders' threats to block his arrival sparked
bloodshed. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
TEGUCIGALPA, July 5 (Xinhua) --
Peaceful marches in Honduras turned violent on Sunday as supporters of President
Manuel Zelaya tried to trespass the airport fences to have access to the runways
where the ousted leader intended to land.
Two persons were killed and several others injured
when protestors clashed with the Armed Force at the airport. Full story
TEGUCIGALPA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' post-coup
government has ordered that any plane carrying deposed president Manuel Zelaya
will be prevented from landing, de facto foreign minister Enrique Ortez
Colindres told a domestic radio station on Sunday.
"With the support of the president and the armed forced,
as foreign minister, I have given instructions that the plane not enter the
country," he told HRN radio. He added that the Civil Aviation Directorate has
instructions not to allow any such plane to enter the country, "no matter who
comes in it". Full story
TEGUCIGALPA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of police and
soldiers on Sunday sealed the streets leading to Toncontin Airport, in Honduras
capital Tegucigalpa, ahead of the possible arrival of President Manuel Zelaya,
who was deposed in a military coup last week.
All road traffic has been halted since the early hours of
Sunday, and the only way to reach the airport is on foot. Full story
MANAGUA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Nicaragua's President Daniel
Ortegaon Sunday denied an accusation from Honduras' post-coup government that
Nicaraguan troops were massing on their shared border. Full story
TEGUCIGALPA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' post-coup
president, Roberto Micheletti, on Sunday accused Nicaragua of massing troops on
their shared border, and said that Honduras is capable of defending itself.
He also called on Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega to
respect Honduras' sovereignty. Their shared border is southeast of Honduras
capital Tegucigalpa. Full story
