President Jose Ramos-Horta returned today to East Timor after a difficult recovery from an assassination attempt.

Thousands of enthusiastic people were present at the airport to greet him, waving East Timorese flags and banners that said, "Welcome home our beloved president! We love you!"

The president was visibly weakened by the struggling past months and was accompanied by bodyguards, aides and his personal physician. Doctor Rui de Araujo was quoted by the Associated Press saying that Ramos-Horta’s recovery has been outstanding: "The wounds have completely closed. He still has some neuropathic pain, but that is normal for the kind of damage he had... Medically speaking he is up to 90 percent cured."

The 58-year-old president was shot on February 11 by rebel soldiers, in front of his house in Dili. The attack was part of a coordinated attempt to shake the country’s leadership as Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was also ambushed on his motorcade the same day. He escaped unharmed.

Ramos-Horta appealed to the rebels and also their commander to give themselves up in order to protect other Timorese from getting hurt. "I do not want Mr. Salsinha or any more Timorese to lose their lives. Too many Timorese have died. Mr. Salsinha has to surrender to justice," he said according to the AP.

Jose Ramos-Horta won the 1996 Nobel Peace prize for his assistance and determination in his country’s independence quest, after decades of brutal Indonesian rule.

Ever since East Timor declared independence in 2002 from Indonesia’s harsh ruling, many have been killed and more than 150,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.