Ousted leader steps into Honduras

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya briefly stepped across the border from Nicaragua to Honduras on Friday, in a symbolic move almost a month after soldiers sent him into exile.Zelaya's move, which came amid warnings of potential bloodshed, provoked criticism in Washington and praise from the Nicaraguan head of the UN General Assembly.

Clashes between anti-riot police firing tear gas and hundreds of Zelaya supporters, some wielding stones, erupted on the Honduran side of the border as the beleaguered leader arrived just meters away in Nicaragua ahead of an expected showdown in his second attempt to return to power.Surrounded by a throng of supporters and media, Zelaya, wearing a leather waistcoat and his trademark cowboy hat, stepped into Honduras briefly before returning to Nicaragua.During the crossing, Zelaya told a Honduran army official that he wanted to speak to the head of the army, General Romeo Vasquez.

Soldiers expelled Zelaya from the country at gunpoint on June 28 in a move supported by Honduras's courts and legislature as he sought to hold a referendum on changing the constitution.In Honduras, soldiers blocked Zelaya's wife from joining the ousted leader, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya told Telesur by telephone.While international television broadcast Zelaya's return, Honduran channels made no mention of it, instead showing regular programs.By nightfall, supporters in Honduras were losing faith that Zelaya would enter the country as promised.Several of the president's humble supporters said they were exhausted after 10 days of talk about his return. Many had walked long distances to reach the border area.Meanwhile, Honduran soldiers, many wearing ski masks, continued to reach the border area.

-AFP