Veteran DRC opponent returns

Tshisekedi has opposed Kinshasa governments for decades

Veteran politician Etienne Tshisekedi has returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after two years of self-imposed exile.

Mr Tshisekedi, who led the opposition to former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, had been living in South Africa since 2001.

Tens of thousands of supporters greeted him as he arrived at Kinshasa airport on Sunday.

He told the crowd he intended to work towards presidential and parliamentary elections due to take place in two years' time.

Mr Tshisekedi, who officially went to South Africa for health reasons, said his influential Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) was doing well.

"The health of my party is still strong - I was gone for two years but the party is still here," he said.

The UDPS took part in talks in South Africa that led to the formation of a unity government in June but did not join the administration.

Mr Tshisekedi said he and his party had no interest in transitional structures, but would prepare for the elections.

Mr Tshisekedi is one of the best-known names in Congolese politics, having begun his career around the time of independence in 1960.

He fell out with the man who ousted Mobutu Sese Seko, Laurent Kabila, and he was placed under house arrest, and later left the country.