|PIC1|Christian charity Global Care says it is concerned about children it supports in Honduras following a military coup in the central American country at the weekend.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was arrested by the military and expelled from the country on Sunday, sparking violent protests from pro-Zelaya supporters in the capital Tegucigalpa.

Global Care supports 30 former street children at the Manuelito Project in the small town of Talanga, about an hour’s drive from Tegucigalpa.

The children and young people there have all been rescued from life on the streets in Tegucigalpa and are now living in two children’s homes on a 33-acre site near Talanga and attending school in the town.

Global Care’s partners have spoken to staff at the home, who say the children are all safe but everyone is staying indoors until the situation calms down. The coup is the first military coup in Central America since the end of the Cold War.

Global Care Chief Executive John White said: “We were very concerned to hear news of the coup in Honduras over the weekend. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and life is already extremely difficult for the most vulnerable of its citizens – children.

"Clearly any period of political instability could well make life even harder for them in the weeks and months ahead.”