Protesters, riot police face off on Independence Day in Honduras

Sunday, 16 September 2018 1:23 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 16 September 2018 1:26 AM ]

Police officers stand next to a graffiti calling Honduran cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez a murderer as they clash with demonstrators during a protest against President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Tegucigalpa on September 15, 2018. (AFP)

Violence marred Independence Day in Honduras on Saturday, September 15, as anti-government protesters clashed with riot police in the capital Tegucigalpa, exchanging rocks and tear gas.

Members of the Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) leftist party clash with the police during a demonstration against President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Tegucigalpa on September 15, 2018 . (AFP)

Demonstrators were out on the streets to protest against President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Critics of the conservative US-ally accuse Hernandez and his supporters of committing fraud in last year's president election.

An initial vote count in the November 26 election showed an election victory for the left, before counting was abruptly paused by the electoral body and then resumed to show a surprise Hernandez victory.

Police officers stand next to a graffiti calling Honduran cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez a murderer as they clash with demonstrators during a protest against President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Tegucigalpa on September 15, 2018. (AFP)

Former president Manuel Zelaya rallied protesters on the Independence Day protest. Zelaya was toppled in a military coup in 2009 and often leads protests against Hernandez' government.

The election plunged Honduras, a poor country that has long sent vulnerable migrants north to the United States, into a political crisis.

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