MANAGUA, June 29, 2009 (AFP) - Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Monday he will return to his country later this week after addressing the United Nations in New York to protest the coup that ousted him from power.

"I go to Tegucigalpa on Thursday," Zelaya said in a speech before regional leaders here.

"I'm the elected president, I will fulfill my four-year term," he vowed.

Zelaya was ousted in a coup Sunday morning after being roused by his own soldiers at the presidential compound and put on an airplane for Costa Rica.

"I will return voluntarily with the protection of the blood of Christ, for God and for my people," he said.

Zelaya also accepted the offer of Jose Miguel Insulza, the leader of the Organization of American States, to accompany him, along with other regional leaders who wish to travel with him.

During his speech, Zelaya, 57, welcomed the unanimous support he has received from around the world, notably from the United States.

President Barack Obama said the United States believed Zelaya "remains the president of Honduras" and said the coup was "not legal." He called for international cooperation to resolve the crisis peacefully.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the international community's "immediate priority is to restore full democratic and constitutional order in that country."

Protests rocked the streets of the Honduran capital on Monday in the most serious unrest in years in the Central American country.

Hundreds of angry Zelaya supporters erected barricades near the presidential palace, throwing rocks and clashing directly with riot police and soldiers.