Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returned home today for an election runoff with President Robert Mugabe despite fears of an assassination plot.
Tsvangirai arrived at Harare airport aboard a regular South African Airways flight after cancelling his homecoming a week ago over the assassination fears, which the government dismissed as a propaganda stunt.
The MDC leader faces a run off election against President Robert Mugabe on June 27th. He has spent most of the time since the first round of voting in March outside the country.
He planned to return to Zimbabwe last Saturday but delayed the trip after his party said he was the target of a military assassination plot.
Tsvangirai plans to meet party officials in Harare to be briefed on the violence opposition supporters are facing in the country.
Independent human rights groups say opposition supporters have been targeted in a campaign of violence aimed at ensuring the 84-year-old Mugabe wins the presidential run off. The violence poses serious questions about whether the run off can be free and fair.
Tsvangirai, 56, has survived three assassination attempts, including one in 1997 by unidentified assailants who tried to throw him from a 10th floor office window. Last year, he was taken to hospital after a brutal assault by police at a prayer rally.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change says more than 30 of its supporters and activists have been killed since the first round of voting on March 29th, and that attacks are increasingly targeting its top leaders.
AP