Filipe Nyusi, Mozambique’s president, and Ossufo Momade, the leader of Renamo, a former rebel movement-turned-opposition party, on Thursday signed a peace accord that finally puts an end to years of hostilities that followed a 15-year civil war, reported Reuters.
Notably, after gaining independence from Portugal, Renamo fought a civil war against the Mozambique government that left more than a million people dead, before a peace deal was signed in 1992. Since 1992, Renamo had participated in national elections, but the party still remained armed and violence flared up sporadically in the years since then.
The peace accord was signed in Gorongosa National Park, near the Renamo headquarters where the group has maintained an armed base for more than 40 years. The two leaders shook hands and embraced after the signing.
Nyusi said Mozambique is now set to embrace a new, more promising chapter free from the war and conflict that had slowed its development.
“Gorongosa is no longer associated with violence,” he told the crowd.
The Renamo leader assured that the peace accord will result in lasting peace in the country. He said the party was now committed to making sure the elections are free, fair and transparent.
“Gorongosa was where the war started and now it is where it ends,” said Momade. “This agreement gives people hope that there will be lasting peace.”
The signing brings an end to a long peace negotiation process initiated by Renamo’s former leader, Alfonso Dhlakama, who breathed his last in May last year. Under the peace agreement, Renamo fighters will need to be successfully disarmed and reintegrated, with some to be placed in positions in the police or military.
The accord will be followed by another agreement to be signed in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, next week on Tuesday pledging peace in the upcoming national elections.
