Violence erupts in Honduras

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION

Tear gas and clashes outside of Honduras' Congress on Tuesday (May 13) as soldiers forcibly remove former President Manuel Zelaya and dozens of other leftist lawmakers who had camped out in Congress in protest.

As soldiers converged on the nation's legislature, violence erupted on the streets of Tegucigalpa as leftist supporters protested what they have slammed as heavy-handed tactics by the conservative government against the country's opposition.

Among those reportedly injured in the forced eviction was former President Manuel Zelaya, who was staging a sit in over claims they had been blocked from debating critical national policies regarding the economy and security.

Tensions between the left and right in Honduras have been high since ruling National Party's Juan Hernandez, who is head of Congress, won last year's election with 36.8 per cent of the votes, according to the country's election tribunal. But the leftist oppositio