The international community has expressed concern over Sunday's military coup in Honduras that ousted President Manuel Zelaya and forced him to go in exile in Costa Rica.

Zelaya was detained by soldiers and then flown to Costa Rica on Sunday, shortly before a disputed referendum for constitutional change was set to start. The constitutional change is expected to allow Zelaya to run for another term.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned about the latest development in Honduras, and calls on all Hondurans to make efforts to peacefully resolve their differences, a UN statement said here on Sunday.

The statement issued by Ban's spokesperson said the secretary-general "expresses his strong support for the country's democratic institutions and condemns the arrest today of the constitutional president of the Republic."

The President of the UN General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann "firmly and categorically condemns" the coup in Honduras in a statement, saying it has broken the constitutional order of the Latin American country.

The Organization of American States (OAS) condemned the coup and called for the immediate reinstallation of Zelaya during an extraordinary session on Sunday.

OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza described the event as "a serious upset to the continent's democratic process."

The Group of Rio, which include most of Latin America and the Caribbean, strongly condemned the military coup and urged Zelaya's reinstatement.

The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) also condemned the coup and called an extraordinary meeting in Nicaragua to discuss the political situation in Honduras.

The European Union Sunday condemned the arrest of Zelaya by the army and called for a return to the constitutional order in the Central American state.

In a statement, the EU foreign ministers urged "the urgent release of the president and a swift return to constitutional normality."

U.S. President Barack Obama Sunday voiced his deep concern about the detention and expulsion of Zelaya by the country's army troops. He called on all sides in Honduras to respect democratic norms and the rule of law, and that "any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a statement saying the action against Zelaya "violates the precepts of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and should be condemned by all."

Brazil, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, and Panama also expressed their condemns or concerns to the coup.

Source:Xinhua