Attacks in central Mozambique: Nhongo ready to talk to government – DW

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Attacks in central Mozambique: Nhongo ready to talk to government – DW

3:19 CAT | 19 Nov 2019

FILE: Mariano Nhongo. [File photo: DW]

The leader of Renamo’s self-proclaimed ‘Military Junta’ Mariano Nhongo says he is available to negotiate with the Mozambican government. If his offer is not taken up, he threatens to resort to violence again.

Mariano Nhongo, the leader of the self-proclaimed Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) ‘Military Junta’ says that the way to end violence in central Mozambique is through serious and urgent negotiation with the government, and has declared himself available for a meeting with the government at the junta base in the Piro region of Gorongosa.

“I have no distrust of the government. I am Mozambican, they are Mozambicans,” Nhongo says.

RENAMO Guerillakämpfer in Gorongosa, Mosambik — *Renamo dissidents in Gorongosa Mountain*

Nhongo and the other members of the ‘Junta’ have rebelled against Renamo leader Ossufo Momade, accusing him of failure and lack of seriousness in negotiating the August 6 Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement with the Mozambican government.

The ‘Military Junta’ does not recognise the agreement, and Nhongo wants to himself finalise the process initiated by former Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama.

“Dhlakama died. If he had not, it would all have been over. At this point we would be talking about other things. But we’ve had to backtrack,” Nhongo says.

New threats

Ten people have died in armed attacks in the centre of the country since August of this year. The attacks occurred on national roads numbers one and six (EN1 and EN6), which cross the provinces of Manica and Sofala.

The Mozambican authorities hold Renamo responsible, but the leader of the country’s largest opposition party, Ossufo Momade, denies any involvement and accuses Mariano Nhongo of being behind the attacks. Nhongo has claimed responsibility for several attacks but denied being behind several others.

Meanwhile, Nhongo threatens to resort to armed violence if the government does not accept his invitation to negotiate.”If the government says it does not want [to meet] us, we will resort to weapons to survive. The war will not end here, if the government does not accept what we are demanding,” he warns.

Nhongo does not elaborate further, but says he has already taken the first steps towards negotiations.

In Gorongosa last Friday (08/11), President Filipe Nyusi urged Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces to pursue, neutralise and detain the perpetrators of the attacks in central Mozambique. Nyusi stressed that the Amnesty Law passed in July for acts committed during the 2014 to 2016 military crisis works ” backwards and not forwards”.

The Mozambican Islamic community in Beira marched through the streets of the city on Sunday (10/11), calling for an end to the armed attacks in the region.

Source: Deutsche Welle