Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Prevented from Returning

by Hannah Strange in Tegucigalpa

The military government of Honduras tightened its grip on power last night as it prevented the ousted President from landing in the capital and fired on protesters who had gathered to support him.

Manuel Zelaya's jet circled over Tegucigalpa as he begged the Army to let him land, but troops blocked the runway with military vehicles and unleashed live rounds and teargas on the ground, killing at least one protester and injuring dozens. Mr Zelaya was forced to divert to Nicaragua.

Stephen Ferry, a photographer working for The Times, was at the airport in the capital where the Army fired on protesters. "I saw a kid being shot in the head, I think he is dead," Mr Ferry said. "There are lots of injured - I don't know how many. They just opened fire - it was completely unprovoked."

Jorge Alberto Vasquez, a 27-year-old farmer, described how he had carried the boy's body from the scene. "He was about fifteen or sixteen. He had been shot in the head. I carried him the length of two blocks . . . We were all calm, then the army started shooting into the crowd."

He said that four people had been killed, although this was not confirmed.

The crowd threw stones, a couple of times stopping to cheer as a plane flew low overhead, at 5.20pm local time. Mr Zelaya had promised a triumphant return, saying in a mid-air interview with the Venezuelan network Telesur: "The blood of Christ sustains me . . . No one can oblige me to turn around."

But the interim government, led by Roberto Micheletti, a former Congressional Speaker, ordered the Armed Forces to divert the aircraft. The miltary had seized power last week in a coup after Mr Zelaya tried to change the consitution to allow him to run for another term. Yesterday Mr Zelaya travelled with the president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a group of Honduran diplomats and a priest.

The Presidents of Paraguay and Argentina and a group of journalists trailed Mr Zelaya in separate aircraft.

About ten thousand protesters marched to the airport despite the Micheletti government's announcement, facing riot police and soldiers, who set up blockades throughout the city. The demonstrators, some masked, pressed up against riot shields, demanding they be allowed through to greet the man they still hoped would come. "You are Honduran too!" some shouted.

One by one, each line of troops retreated, the victorious marchers cheering as they ploughed through to the next.

Some soldiers seemed demoralised, uncertain of how to deal with the situation. One, who declined to give his name, told The Times that he could not see how the crisis would be resolved, as "neither side is willing to give".

The interim government is not recognised by internationally and was suspended from the Organisation of American States yesterday after ignoring an ultimatum to reinstate Mr Zelaya.