Nicaragua rejects Honduras' claims of troops buildup

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega Sunday denied an accusation from Honduras' post-coup government that Nicaraguan troops were massing on their shared border.

"Brother Honduran soldiers, brother Honduran officials, I want to assure you, swearing before God and nation, that Nicaragua is not deploying troops towards Honduras and that we are not preparing any kind of attack on Honduran garrisons on the border," he told domestic radio.

Earlier Sunday, Roberto Micheletti, Honduras' post-coup leader, told media that Nicaragua had begun a so-called "psychological invasion" by sending small squads of troops to the border. The report was rebroadcast by CNN's Spanish language channel.

Ortega said the coup leaders are trying to deflect attention from the conflict in Honduras by creating the idea that the conflict is really with Nicaragua.

"There is no such conflict with Nicaragua. Our nation is not sending troops to Honduran territory. We are keeping our troops in their normal positions, where they have always been to protect national sovereignty," he said.

Micheletti's statement came just after the nation had turned away Manuel Zelaya, who was deposed in a coup last Sunday, as he tried to land in a private jet in Honduras capital Tegucigalpa's Toncontin international airport. He was accompanied by United Nations' general assembly president, Migue Desoto.

Honduras' post-coup government said that they had turned away Zelaya, who had been seized by soldiers from the presidential palace and forced onto a plane to Costa Rica, because they sought to avoid "a blood bath".

Zelaya supporters had been waiting for him at the airport, and Honduran troops and soldiers had sealed the streets around the airport from all road traffic in the run up to Zelaya's planned arrival.

Last updated on Jul 6^th, 2009 at 06:48 am IST--Xinhua