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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Protesters clash in Honduras |
| 2009-09-24 |
| Deposed President Manuel Zelaya has been besieged at the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras with dwindling supplies with soldiers firing tear gas at protestors outside. Zelaya's surprise return on Monday, almost three months after he was ousted in military coup, spun the Central American nation into chaos and threw it into the spotlight, just as world leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly in New York. United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon announced the withdrawal of election assistance to the crisis-hit Central American nation, saying conditions were not favorable for the poll set for November. The deposed president, along with scores of his supporters, journalists and embassy staff, remained sequestered inside the embassy, which was running short on food and hit by cuts in electricity, water and telephone lines. Throughout the day, power was restored and water allowed to flow again inside the embassy, but food was in short supply. Outside, thousands of red-clad Zelaya supporters poured onto the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa in one of the largest pro-Zelaya demonstrations since the president's June 28 ouster that was backed by the military. Heavily-armed riot police and soldiers detained an unknown number of protesters after clashes broke out. Hundreds more flocked to gas stations and supermarkets to stock up during a brief respite from a nationwide curfew. Zelaya earlier said that he wants face-to-face talks with de facto leader Roberto Micheletti on restoring his presidency. Micheletti offered late Tuesday to hold direct talks with Zelaya if he recognized the validity of the November 29 elections, but the ousted leader dismissed that offer . |
| Posted by:Fred |