Watch: Frelimo rejects accusations of reactivating “death squads” – Mozambique

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Watch: Frelimo rejects accusations of reactivating “death squads” – Mozambique

2:58 CAT | 13 Nov 2019

Frelimo spokesperson Caifadine Manasse, [Photo: DW]

Frelimo, the ruling party in Mozambique, rejects opposition party Renamo’s accusations of having reactivated any “death squads”, and counter-accuses Renamo of wanting to disturb the country’s order and tranquillity.

“This is not the first time that Renamo [Mozambican National Resistance] has talked about death squads. It clearly shows that this issue is a line of Renamo itself,” Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) spokesman Caifadine Manasse said.

The reaction came just hours after accusations made by Renamo spokesman Jose Manteigas that the ruling party has reactivated alleged ‘death squads’ to harass members of the main opposition party contesting the October 15 general election results.

Manasse said the accusations were an attempt to disrupt public order and tranquillity.

“We will continue to direct the destinies of the people, and we will not support or admit any disruption which holds back the development of the country,” the Frelimo spokesman said.

“Serious internal problems” at Renamo

Renamo, he continued, is experiencing an internal crisis, with one wing headed by party leader Ossufo Momade and another headed by the leader of the self-proclaimed ‘Military Junta’.

“Renamo has serious internal problems,” Manasse said.

The Frelimo spokesman accused Renamo of being behind the armed attacks on roads in central Mozambique, noting that the party was behind this sort of action in the past, as part of its strategy of contesting election results.

Following armed violence that has killed 10 people in the region since August, an armed group again attacked a bus in central Mozambique on Tuesday morning, injuring three, witnesses and authorities told Lusa.

Violence of the same sort happened in the region in the 2015 post-election period, when former Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama rejected Frelimo’s victory, while also denying involvement in the clashes.

This time, the scenario is even more complex, after an uncertain number of armed Renamo guerrillas, headed by Mariano Nhongo, rebelled against party leader Ossufo Momade in June, threatening to destabilise the region.

Nhongo however has, in occasional contacts with Lusa and other media outlets, denied that his men were the perpetrators of the attacks.