Supporters of the ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya run from tear gas fired by riot police during clashes near the Brazilian Embassy on Sept 22. (Fernando Antonio/Associated Press)

An attack by Honduran police and soldiers on the Brazilian Embassy, where ousted President Manuel Zelaya has been holed up since sneaking back into Honduras, "would be a disaster," a senior UN official said Monday.

B. Lynn Pascoe, undersecretary-general for political affairs, said the situation in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, "took a seriously bad turn with the threats on the Brazilian Embassy" made by interim president Roberto Micheletti.

"This of course is a very serious problem for all of us," Pascoe said. "It would be a disaster if any action were taken to violate international law on the inviolability of the embassies."

In Honduras, Micheletti repeated a pledge on Monday not to attack the Brazilian Embassy and sent "a big hug" to Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a day after giving him a 10-day ultimatum to expel Zelaya or move him to Brazil.

Last week, the UN Security Council held a briefing and closed-door consultations after Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim raised concerns Honduran authorities could move against the embassy to capture Zelaya.

In a statement, the council "condemned acts of intimidation" against the embassy, and said that "respect and protection of the inviolability of diplomatic premises is a universally accepted principle of international relations."

The government, which seized power in a military coup and sent Zelaya into forced exile on June 28, has suspended civil liberties, silenced opposition broadcasters and sent police and soldiers into the streets to face off with protesters.

Government raids media outlets

On Monday, soldiers raided the office of Radio Globo and shut down television station Channel 36 after accusing them of spreading dissent.

The two outlets were closed under an emergency decree issued late Sunday that curtails civil liberties and allows the government to close media stations that "attack peace and public order," said Rene Zepeda, a spokesman for the interim government.

The decree suspending civil liberties was issued in a bid to preempt a possible uprising by supporters of Zelaya, who is staying in the Brazilian Embassy with more than 60 family members and supporters.

The decree suspended two rights guaranteed by the Honduran Constitution. In addition to banning unauthorized gatherings, the decree allows police to make an arrest without a warrant "any person who poses a danger to his own life or those of others."

Following his ouster three months ago, Zelaya slipped back into Honduras last week.

Hours before Sunday's decree was issued, Zelaya urged his backers to stage mass protest marches against the interim government.

Micheletti may restore civil liberties

Hundreds of people turned out for Monday's protest but were ringed by riot police, setting off a daylong standoff. Protest leaders insisted that thousands more were trying to join but were stopped from leaving poorer neighbourhoods or from travelling from the countryside.

In an apparent back-down from an escalating situation, Micheletti suggested Monday afternoon that he would restore civil liberties and allow dissident broadcasters to reopen by the end of the week.

Micheletti said he wanted to "ask the Honduran people for forgiveness" for the emergency measures and said he would lift them in accordance with demands from the same Congress that installed him after the coup.

He said he would discuss lifting the measures with court officials "as soon as possible," adding: "By the end of this week we'll have this resolved."

However, Micheletti made it clear that if the measures are lifted, "that doesn't mean the police are going back to barracks."

In another development, the government said it would welcome an advance team from the Organization of American States into the country starting Friday after expelling four members of a similar team on Sunday. It also said an OAS commission of foreign ministers could visit on Oct. 7.