Honduras President Arrested by Troops

The move comes days after the president sacked the armed forces chief, who had refused to back the referendum plan. Photo by BGNES

Honduran President, Manuel Zelaya, has been arrested by troops ahead of a controversial constitutional referendum.

President Zelaya's secretary said that the president had been taken to an airbase outside the capital, Tegucigalpa, the BBC reported.

The move comes days after the president sacked the armed forces chief, who had refused to back the referendum plan.

President Zelaya, who was elected in 2006 for a non-renewable four-year term, wants a vote to enable him to seek a second term.

The arrest comes after Zelaya, an ally of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, told Spain's El Pais newspaper a planned coup attempt against him was thwarted after the US refused to back it.

The referendum was originally scheduled to have taken place at the same time as the presidential election in November.

 

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