Sawt Falasteen - Clashes as crowds welcome Mozambique opposition leader home from exile

Several people were also wounded as police barred supporters from going to the international airport to meet Venancio Mondlane, who knelt on the ground holding a bible as he exited the terminal.

Mondlane, who had been away for more than two months, returned as Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party prepares to be sworn in as president on January 15.

Popular among young people who feel marginalised in the impoverished country, Mondlane claims the October 9 vote was rigged in favour of Frelimo, which has held power for 50 years.

At one barricade near the airport, a man among scores trying to get through was shot and badly wounded by security forces, an AFP photographer said.

Eight wounded were admitted to hospital closest to the airport, some with gunshot wounds, a representative said.

A man was shot dead in the city centre as police tried to disperse thousands of people at a market, the AFP photographer said.

The jubilant crowd chanted "Venancio" and blew whistles and vuvuzelas as Mondlane, flanked by security guards, stood on the top of a car and waved and pointed.

His vehicle was thronged by large crowds as it left. It was not known where he went and he was not seen again for the next few hours.

Mondlane, who went into hiding after his lawyer was assassinated on October 19, repeated at the airport his claim of victory in the vote.

Raising a hand as if taking an oath, Mondlane said in front of journalists that he was the "president... elected by the genuine will of the people".

- Inter-party dialogue -

During his absence, Mondlane rallied his supporters to protest against the results via regular and widely followed social media addresses.

The security forces were accused of using excessive force, including live bullets, against the demonstrators.

Around 300 people have been killed, many of them protesters, according to a tally by a local rights group. Authorities say police also died.

The unrest has caused major losses to Mozambique's economy, stopping cross-border trade and affecting shipping, mining and industry.

The government has started dialogue with political parties to end the crisis and Mondlane said he was willing to take part.

"I'm here in the flesh to say that if you want to negotiate... I'm here," the 50-year-old said at the airport in a message for the authorities.

Chapo and outgoing President Filipe Nyusi held a new meeting with opposition leaders Thursday, including the leader of the smaller Podemos party that backed Mondlane at the vote, although he does not head the group.

Asked by a journalist if Mondlane would be included in the talks, Chapo said the dialogue was reserved for leaders of political parties but may be broadened later.

Mondlane also said at the airport that he was ready to answer to criminal and civil charges laid against him by the authorities, including on charges related to the protests.

"If the government arrests Venancio, there will be an international outcry and potentially very dangerous demonstrations," said Eric Morier-Genoud, an African history professor at Queen's University Belfast.

"If they don't arrest him, he will occupy the centre and Frelimo will be weakened just a few days before the inauguration of the deputies and the president," he told AFP on Wednesday.

Mondlane's return "will either destabilise or resolve the current political crisis", said Tendai Mbanje, analyst at the Johannesburg-based African Centre for Governance.

"He is the current hope and future of the youths," he said. "If Frelimo would like to unite the country, it is time that they take his return as an opportunity for dialogue."

P.Tamimi--SF-PST