After a self-imposed exile, Venâncio Mondlane was welcomed home by delirious crowds supporting his claim that the country’s last election was stolen from him by corrupt elites.

Mozambique opposition leader Venancio Mondlane returned home on Thursday, after fleeing in the days following a hotly contested October election that sparked demonstrations in which scores of protesters have been killed.

Police in Mozambique fired tear gas at demonstrators welcoming the return of opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane after October's disputed vote.View on euronews

Thousands of people turned out to meet Mozambique's main opposition leader after he returned home from more than two months in exile Thursday to push his claim that he won

Mozambique’s main opposition leader has returned from self-imposed exile saying he still rejects the results of a disputed election last year that has sparked more than two months of protests and a violent crackdown by security forces.

Supporters of Mozambique's opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane have been injured as police tried to break up the crowds who had come to meet him after his return from self-imposed exile on Thursday. He had left the country saying he thought his life was in danger following October's disputed presidential election that sparked deadly protests.

Mozambique’s main opposition leader returned from exile Thursday as security forces fired tear gas at hundreds of his supporters who gathered near the main international airport to welcome him home.

Some speculate that Frelimo is instigating chaos as an excuse to crack down. Security forces have killed around 300 people since the protests began, including 176 in the final week of December alone,