Honduras' attorney general told media on Tuesday that he had issued an arrest warrant for deposed President Manuel Zelaya.

"Once he enters the nation he will be arrested by the National Police," Luis Alberto Rubi said.

"There is a great deal of misinformation. Honduras is a nation governed by law," he said.

Zelaya was seized at the Presidential Palace in the early hours of Sunday morning by hooded and heavily armed troops who forced him to board a plane to Costa Rica.

The congress appointed Roberto Micheletti as president in a session that began with the reading of a resignation letter, purportedly from Zelaya, but the ousted leader said was fake.

Rubi said that Zelaya's arrest warrant features 18 separate crimes including abuse of power and treason. He said that Honduras' prosecutors had warned Zelaya that he was acting illegally and that they would take appropriate measures.

Zelaya upset the army, the judiciary and legislature over plans to hold a nonbonding referendum on rewriting the nation's constitution.

He had sacked the head of Honduras' armed forces when the army declined to help in providing security for the scheduled Sunday referendum. The nation's Supreme Court had earlier declared any referendum over the constitution illegal, saying that the constitution contains clauses that cannot be altered.

Micheletti has said that the planned presidential elections on Nov. 29 will go ahead and he will hand over the presidential sash to a successor on Jan. 27, 2010.

On Monday, the military used tear gas and opened fires to disperse protestors at the Presidential Palace in defiance of martial law declared by Micheletti on Sunday night. So far, there have been two deaths, 60 injuries and 270 arrests in the protests against the post-coup government.

Many nations and international groups including the United Nations voiced support for Zelaya, saying they will not recognize Micheletti's government.

Honduras' neighbors have halted cross-border trade and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration has suspended new loans to the Micheletti government.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2009)