<p>Maputo: 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.</p><p>Mondlane says the Oct. 9 poll was rigged and has called on his supporters to take to the streets across the southern African nation of 35 million.</p><p>A heavy riot police presence was felt in the areas surrounding capital Maputo's international airport where thousands gathered to welcome Mondlane.</p>.<p>A Reuters witness said tear gas was fired on crowds in the area and snipers were positioned on buildings around the air base.</p><p>Protests have continued, sporadically, for more than two months, and Mondlane's return could add fuel to the fire.</p><p>Civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide said at least 278 people had died in the protests since mid-October, when the electoral commission announced the results extending the ruling Frelimo party's half-century in power.</p>.A pivotal year in India-Africa ties .<p>Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, clinging on throughout a 15-year civil war that killed a million people before a 1992 truce.</p><p>Last year's unrest hurt businesses and disrupted border access with neighbouring South Africa, while some people have fled to neighbouring Malawi and Eswatini amid the violence.</p><p>Mozambique's top court in December confirmed the ruling party Frelimo's election victory - despite multiple reports from observers that it was not free and fair - triggering a fresh round of protests.</p><p>Newly-elected President Daniel Chapo is to be sworn in next week, another potential flashpoint in Mozambique's political crisis.</p><p>Chapo and Frelimo deny accusations of electoral fraud.</p>
<p>Maputo: 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.</p><p>Mondlane says the Oct. 9 poll was rigged and has called on his supporters to take to the streets across the southern African nation of 35 million.</p><p>A heavy riot police presence was felt in the areas surrounding capital Maputo's international airport where thousands gathered to welcome Mondlane.</p>.<p>A Reuters witness said tear gas was fired on crowds in the area and snipers were positioned on buildings around the air base.</p><p>Protests have continued, sporadically, for more than two months, and Mondlane's return could add fuel to the fire.</p><p>Civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide said at least 278 people had died in the protests since mid-October, when the electoral commission announced the results extending the ruling Frelimo party's half-century in power.</p>.A pivotal year in India-Africa ties .<p>Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, clinging on throughout a 15-year civil war that killed a million people before a 1992 truce.</p><p>Last year's unrest hurt businesses and disrupted border access with neighbouring South Africa, while some people have fled to neighbouring Malawi and Eswatini amid the violence.</p><p>Mozambique's top court in December confirmed the ruling party Frelimo's election victory - despite multiple reports from observers that it was not free and fair - triggering a fresh round of protests.</p><p>Newly-elected President Daniel Chapo is to be sworn in next week, another potential flashpoint in Mozambique's political crisis.</p><p>Chapo and Frelimo deny accusations of electoral fraud.</p>