143 people were detained and 18 others injured when police dislodged supporters of ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya from the front of the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, where Zelaya is staying, the police said.

A policeman fires a canister of tear gas at supporters of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya, near the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa Sept. 22, 2009. [Xinhua]

Honduran police spokesman Daniel Molina said the detainees were taken to the sports center "Jose Simon Azcona" in the northeast of Tegucigalpa.

Police and soldiers used tear gas and gum shoots to disperse the protesters. Police said some detainees were detained for violating the curfew.

Molina said that officials from the Honduran National Commission of Human Rights (Conadeh) and the Human Rights Prosecutor's Office went to the sports center.

"There are more than 140 detainees, among them three minors, but there is staff of human rights who are guaranteeing the police actions were legal and in the right form," Molina added.

Supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya sleep inside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa Sept. 22, 2009. [Xinhua]

Molina said that the 18 injured were taken to the School Hospital of Tegucigalpa. Three of them will need minor surgeries due to their injures.

"There are people who during the demonstration made vandalize acts and they are detained. A total of 49 were taken to the correspondent prosecutor office to prove their responsibility," Molina said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2009)