Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has vowed to return to power through peaceful means and denied he was rallying groups of armed supporters near the border with Nicaragua.
Mr Zelaya, in exile in Nicaragua, also lamented the death of one of his supporters who was shot during a protest last week. The man died of his injuries early yesterday, as efforts to resolve the crisis over the June 28th coup remained stalemated.
"I am not forming any armed military force, although I have the means to do it because I come from a state where there are weapons everywhere," Mr Zelaya, a logging magnate originally from the ranching state of Olancho, told Honduran television. "We do not use arms," the left-leaning Mr Zelaya said.
He later arrived at Nicaragua's border with Honduras, the second trip there in about a week, to meet with hundreds of supporters camped out in the area. Mr Zelaya briefly crossed into Honduras last month before returning to Nicaragua. It was unclear how long he would remain at the border.
Roberto Micheletti, the head of a de facto government installed after the coup, said he was keeping a strong military and police presence on the southern border to counter potential armed action by the ousted president's supporters in the area.
The interim leaders have said Mr Zelaya will be arrested if he enters Honduran territory.
The deadlock in Honduras, an impoverished exporter of coffee and textiles, centres around Mr Micheletti's refusal to let Mr Zelaya return to finish his term as president, as requested by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who is acting as mediator.
Reuters