Zelaya turned away from Honduras as violence escalates (Updated)

Update (11:15pm):

We leave the last word for tonight with the following brief recap of today's events from Al Jazeera including some stunning footage of protesters presumably hit by military fire:

Update (10:00pm):

After circling the Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa, Manuel Zelaya's flight never got the green light to land in Honduras. Zelaya told TeleSur that military vehicles at the airport further prevented a safe landing:


According to a Salvadoran government representative, Zelaya's plane will detour to Managua, Nicaragua. No word on whether it will continue onto El Salvador as was originally reported.

Meanwhile, the violence which we mentioned in a previous update seemed to have been worse than was initially reported:

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.

We'll further discuss the very tense and nerve-wracking situation in Honduras on Monday.

Update (7:00pm):

It's still unclear if Manuel Zelaya's flight will try to land in Honduras or if he will be prevented from doing so. Zelaya ordered the military to open the Tegucigalpa international airport while the acting government has ordered his plane to turn away and go to El Salvador.

Meanwhile, at least one person died as police and pro-Zelaya marchers clashed outside the Tegucigalpa international airport. (Let's hope that the 1973 Ezeiza massacre upon the return of Juan Peron to Argentina does not repeat itself in Honduras).

Update (5:15pm):

In remarks made to TeleSUR (or the Nicaraguan media) Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega denied accusations by Honduran acting president Roberto Micheletti that troops were gathering along the Nicaragua-Honduras border. "We are not planning an invasion" said Ortega who added that he was preferred a peaceful solution to the mess in Honduras.

Update (4:45pm):

Zelaya's flight has been supposedly diverted by Honduran authorities to El Salvador. (Thus far it has not been mentioned specifically why).

Zelaya's plane will soon be followed by planes that left from Washington carrying the presidents of Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States and journalists. (No word if they were diverted too).

Original Post:

One week after being deposed as president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya is planning his return to his native land.

Zelaya is currently on a Venezuelan government plane en route to Honduras and accompanied by the Nicaraguan head of the U.N. General Assembly- Miguel D’Escoto Brickmann. In a telephone interview with TeleSUR, Zelaya has called on his countrymen to remain calm and has asked the military to not shutdown the airport in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

Zelaya has an order of arrest against him which may be carried out if he arrives today in Honduras. Yet that may not happen as the AP reports that the acting government has ordered the military to turn away the aircraft Zelaya is in.

Thousands of Zelaya supporters have gathered in Tegucigalpa and appear to be on their way to the airport according to video shown moments ago on CNN en Español. Honduran troops had previously closed the road in front of the presidential palace as well as the road to the airport in the capital city.

Meanwhile, acting president Roberto Micheletti accused Venezuela and Nicaragua of “interfering” in Honduran affairs and claimed that troops were gathering along the Nicaragua-Honduras border. Yet at the press conference currently led by Micheletti, he contradicted himself by saying that these troops were "small groups" that represented little harm.

Honduran diplomats “repudiated and denounced” Saturday’s decision by the Organization of American States to suspend Honduras from the bloc. Despite Honduras’ increasing political isolation and criticism of the OAS, Micheletti said that he would send a diplomatic team to meet with OAS representatives. (Perhaps Micheletti and his cohorts are feeling the pressure from so much political isolationism?)

Image- Christian Science Monitor (“Soldiers stood guard Saturday as supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya arrived after a march at Toncontin international airport in the capital, Tegucigalpa.”)
Online Sources- Washington Post, Bloomberg, AP, New York Times, Reuters