CARACAS, Venezuela, (Reuters) - Fiery Venezuelan populist Hugo Chavez returned to the presidency in a conciliatory mood yesterday after a government set up following Friday's military coup stunningly collapsed in the face of a rebellion by loyalist troops and massive protests.

The former paratrooper turned politician flew back from the Venezuelan island of La Orchila, where he had been held under arrest by military top brass who briefly ousted him as leader of the world's fourth-largest oil-exporting nation in favour of mild-mannered businessman Pedro Carmona.

In the capital Caracas yesterday, there were serious outbreaks of looting in the western working class neighbourhoods of Catia, Caricuao and Antimano. National Guard troops were deployed to reinforce police in these areas. Other parts of Caracas were quiet.

As state television broadcast appeals for calm, police in Catia fired warning shots in a bid to stop looters who carried off food, furniture and appliances from gutted, smoking shops and businesses. Several banks were also broken into.

In the pro-Chavez protests that shook Caracas during the day and night of Saturday, nine people were killed, state television reported, but it gave no details.

Returning to a hero's welcome from thousands of cheering supporters at the Miraflores presidential palace early yesterday, Chavez sent a largely conciliatory message to the nation, appealing for calm and calling on followers who had rioted in support of his return to go home.

``Let's put our house in order,'' a clearly happy Chavez, clutching a crucifix in one hand and a miniature copy of Venezuela's 1999 constitution in the other, told a news conference as his supporters chanted ``He's back, he's back!''

Chavez, who first came to prominence as leader of a failed coup in 1992, six years before he won elections, recognized that both his government and his foes had made mistakes.

``There isn't going to be any retaliation, no witch hunt. I haven't any thirst for revenge,'' Chavez said. But his triumphant return after two days of confusion, frantic military pronouncements and street protests by pro-Chavez supporters raised many questions about the future in a nation rich in oil but plagued with poverty and unemployment and riven with deep social divisions.

Venezuelans were digesting the impact of the flip-flop coup and counter rebellion which saw the firebrand president deposed early Friday and restored to power 48 hours later. Opinions were mixed, reflecting continued social and political tension.

``Thank God he's back. Otherwise, imagine the consequences,'' Mariano de la Cruz, a 49-year-old cook, told Reuters.

``I'm stunned,'' said a lawyer and university professor in his late 50s who declined to give his name. ``I fear we have a dictatorship coming,'' he added, describing the apparently conciliatory Chavez as ``a wolf in sheep's clothing.''

Most national newspapers were not published yesterday. The only one which did appear, the daily Ultimas Noticias, printed the banner headline, ``Chavez Returns!''

State prosecutors were interviewing former interim president Carmona, who resigned Saturday night, and several senior military officers at the Fuerte Tiuna military base, though they were not formally under arrest, said Chavez's defense minister, Jose Vicente Rangel.

The pro-Chavez protests erupted a day after the armed forces said the democratically elected Chavez had resigned at their request after gunmen killed at least 11 unarmed demonstrators participating in a massive anti-government protest in Caracas Thursday. Chavez denied he had resigned.

Carmona quit after the protests broke out in favour of Chavez, and loyalist troops seized control of Miraflores.

Instantly returning to his old talkative form, Chavez delivered a rambling hour-long monologue that ended shortly before dawn broke over the troubled capital.

He recalled how he had washed his own socks and underwear and said the popular protests and army mutinies in his favor marked a historic triumph for the Venezuelan people.

``I never for a moment doubted that we would return. But I never thought we would return so quickly,'' he said.

Statements by military generals that he had resigned and asked to be sent abroad were lies, he said. ``They put a piece of paper on the table, saying 'resign,' but I said ``I am a president being held prisoner, but I am not resigning.''

Rejoicing in their hero's return, thousands of ecstatic Chavez supporters, mainly from Caracas' sprawling slums, waved Venezuelan flags, chanted and pressed against the iron fence around the presidential palace. But Sunday saw many Venezuelans concerned about the future.

``There's a confrontation of social classes here. There's a lot of hatred,'' said 43-year-old worker Carlos Ibarra.

He urged both the government and its opponents, which include Venezuela's economic elite and a large portion of the middle classes, to seek consensus. ``There has to be an agreement between the two sides to get this country going.''

In one apparent conciliatory gesture, Chavez said he had accepted the resignation of the board of state oil giant PDVSA. His nomination of the new board in February had triggered a six-week dispute in the strategic oil company which badly disrupted the country's oil output, refining and exports.

Saturday was a day of chaos in which it was seldom clear who was running the country. Chavez supporters clashed with police and stormed television stations that had been fiercely critical of the populist leader.

Chavez's career had seemed to be finished early on Friday but the officers who ousted him apparently did not have command of key active combat units around the country, and one by one these came out in favor of Chavez, tipping the balance in favor of the counter-rebellion that restored him.

In his news conference early yesterday, Chavez referred to the ``betrayal'' of some members of the armed forces. ``They will have to face history and the law,'' he said.

Chavez, the 47-year-old son of poor teachers, led troops in a failed coup attempt in 1992.

After his release from prison, he embarked on a political career that swept him to power in a landslide election victory in 1998. Often opting to continue to wear his paratrooper's red beret, Chavez delighted the poor but infuriated the rich and the powerful news media with his rambling, often folksy speeches that denounced the wealthy elite.

As he amassed more power, his critics said he was leading Venezuela down the road toward a Cuban-style authoritarian government. His failure to cut corruption or poverty also eroded much of his support among the poor. His approval rating had fallen to about 30 percent by the time the most recent opinion poll was taken.