Mozambique: Renamo boss expects more of party’s military junta to lay down arms

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Mozambique: Renamo boss expects more of party’s military junta to lay down arms

6:39 CAT | 19 Mar 2021

Image. Renamo Moçambique

The president of Renamo, Ossufo Momade, has said he expects more defections from members of the group of the self-proclaimed Renamo Military Junta, reiterating that peace is fundamental for the country’s development.

“It is our expectation that the other members of the Military Junta will follow the same example,” said the leader of the main opposition party in Mozambique on Wednesday.

The Renamo military junta, headed by former guerrilla leader Mariano Nhongo, contests the party’s leadership and the conditions for demobilisation arising from the Peace Agreement, and is pointed out by the authorities as being responsible for armed attacks that have killed at least 30 people in central Mozambique since 2019.

In recent months, several influential members of the group have left the bush and joined the peace process, but their leader maintains the claims, accusing the defectors of treason.

For the Renamo president, the defectors made the right decision by abandoning their weapons to join the peace and reconciliation process for the country’s development.

“That group heard our appeal and joined the peace and reconciliation process, pillars for the development of the country,” stressed the Renamo president, who has always distanced himself from the actions of the self-proclaimed military junta.

The peace agreement in Mozambique was signed in August 2019 by the Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi, and the president of Renamo, Ossufo Momade, providing, among other things, the conditions for the demilitarisation, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) process of the armed wing of the main opposition party.

Over the past year, the Mozambican head of state and the leader of the self-proclaimed Renamo military junta have tried a rapprochement, but the talks failed, with the two sides exchanging accusations.

On Wednesday morning, Mozambican police commander Bernardino Rafael said operations to neutralise Mariano Nhongo continue, but in a war situation it is difficult to set deadlines, although progress is being made.

“A war is not over with deadlines, so let the defence and security forces work,” Bernardino Rafael said, adding that the authorities “are doing everything to restore peace and security in the region”.

Source: Lusa