Brazil not to send troops to defend embassy in Honduras: official

Brazil does not intend to send troops to defend its embassy in Honduras, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Monday.

Jobim said he did not believe the Honduran forces would attack the Brazilian citizens in the embassy, where ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has been taking refuge since Sept. 21.

It was Zelaya’s third attempt to enter the country, from which he was ousted in late June by a military coup. Though the embassy grants refuge to Zelaya, the Brazilian government has denied any involvement with his arrival in Honduras.

Since Zelaya entered the embassy building, the interim Honduran government has been pressuring Brazil to hand him over. The Honduran military police have cut the embassy’s public services and blocked its supplies.

Additionally, several conflicts between pro-Zelaya groups and the police have taken place in front of the embassy, killing two people and leaving several injured.

Jobim said the Honduran crisis should be solved in a peaceful way, adding that there was nothing to be done in case the interim Honduran government revoked the building’s diplomatic status.

On Sunday, the interim government said the building would lose its diplomatic status in 10 days if Zelaya was not handed over to the authorities.