At least 800 people have been arrested in Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa and nearby cities for defying the curfew, part of martial law imposed on June 28, police said on Monday.

"Most of them have now been released," police spokesman German Rivera told local media.

The bulk of the arrests were in Tegucigalpa, with 771 people. The remainder were in Sabanagrande, south of the capital, and Talanga to the northeast.

The curfew had been of nine hours -- from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT to 1200 GMT) the following day, but the government extended it to 11 hours -- from 6:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT to 1130 GMT) -- citing clashes between soldiers and Zelaya supporters at Tegucigalpa's Toncontin Airport on Sunday, which killed two people.

Honduran soldiers stormed the presidential palace and flew President Manuel Zelaya into exile in Costa Rica on June 28, shortly before a disputed referendum for constitutional change set to start. The constitutional change was expected to allow Zelaya to run for another term.

Later on June 28, the Honduran legislature voted to appoint Micheletti, head of the legislature, as president to serve out Zelaya's term.

Honduras' post-coup government has sent a delegation to Washington to speak with Organization of American States (OAS) representatives, seeking a way out of the crisis.

The OAS expelled Honduras at the weekend for failing to restore Zelaya to power. The coup has been widely condemned by the international communities.

(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2009)