Managua/Tegucigalpa, July 25 (DPA) Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya risked arrest Friday, crossing the Nicaraguan-Honduran border in an effort to reclaim power after mediation efforts failed to resolve the Central American country's political standoff.

Deposed and expelled by the military June 28, Zelaya insisted on returning to Honduras after mediation efforts failed to achieve his restoration. But shortly after crossing the border, Zelaya retreated back to the Nicaraguan side.

He had called on supporters to meet him at the border and escort him to the capital, even as the de facto government in Tegucigalpa threatened to arrest Zelaya if he stepped onto Honduran soil.

Zelaya walked toward the border surrounded by a scrum of reporters and supporters, talking at times simultaneously on two cellphones, televised images showed. He then stepped under a chain marking the international frontier.

He demanded to speak with military leaders before stepping back into Nicaragua.

Zelaya supporters and security forces clashed earlier on the Honduran side of the border, where military and police had erected barricades to keep out Zelaya. Several people were injured in the confrontation.

Zelaya's first attempt to fly July 5 into Honduras was thwarted after the military blocked the runway and wouldn't allow his plane to land.

The government of Roberto Micheletti, installed after Zelaya's removal, had ordered an overnight curfew along the border and positioned security forces at crossings to keep out Zelaya. Officials have said they could not guarantee his safety.

In Washington, the Organisation of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza warned Zelaya against escalating the conflict by attempting to cross the border.

Zelaya was accompanied on his journey toward the border by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro and former Nicaraguan revolutionary Eden Pastora. His convoy stopped just short of the crossing.