Interim leader Roberto Micheletti ramped up tensions on Sunday by alleging that Nicaraguan troops were moving toward the countries' joint border, a claim Nicaraguan military immediately denied.

'We have been informed that in the sector of Nicaragua, some troops are moving toward the border,' Mr Micheletti said in a televised news conference.

In Managua, Nicaraguan general Adolfo Zepeda shot back that the information was 'totally false.' Amid growing international isolation, interim leaders also said they had put forward an offer for dialogue in 'good faith' with the OAS, after they previously said they were pulling out of the body ahead of the suspension.

But Mr Micheletti also said that no one would pressure him, and still insisted he had taken power in a 'constitutional succession.' The OAS suspended Honduras late on Saturday in the first such move since the exclusion of Cuba in 1962.

Members of the pan-American body slammed the leaders of the coup which saw the army remove Mr Zelaya at the height of a dispute with the courts, politicians and the army over his plans to change the constitution, which opponents said included an attempt to stand for a second term.

Night time curfews - which suspend some freedoms guaranteed by the constitution - and media blackouts have since ramped up tension in one of Latin America's poorest countries.

A freezing of millions of dollars of international aid, regional trade blockades and recalls of foreign ambassadors have also hit the country in the past week.

Mr Chavez, Mr Zelaya's main backer, has said that Venezuela would suspend key shipments of oil to Honduras, which he said would drive up gasoline prices. -- AFP