The ousted Honduran president has returned to his country nearly three months after being forced from power and into exile by a military-backed coup.

Manuel Zelaya took refuge at the Brazilian embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, on Monday, prompting Roberto Micheletti, the man who replaced him, to declare an overnight curfew and demand that Brazil hand him over.

Thousands of Zelaya supporters gathered outside the embassy as helicopters flew overhead and a small group of police stood nearby.

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, called for dialogue between Zelaya and the de facto government and urged everyone to "act in a peaceful way to try to find some common ground".

Monica Villamizar reports.