Mozambique’s former rebel group, known as Renamo, has said the Monday attack by the army signals the end of the peace deal signed 21 years ago.

On Monday, the Mozambican army staged an attack against the rebel group and took over its military base near the Gorongosa Mountains in central Mozambique.

Renamo, also the main opposition party, condemned the attack and accused the army of trying to kill the group’s leader Afonso Dhlakama. The group also annulled the peace accord, which ended the country’s 16-year civil war.

"Today, the Frelimo government used troops and heavy artillery to attack the residence of the Renamo president, Afonso Dhlakama, to kill him in cold blood," the spokesman of Renamo group Fernando Mazanga said.

"This irresponsible attitude of the commander in chief of the country's security forces (President Armando Guebuza) signals the end of the Rome Peace Accords," Mazanga added.


The Monday’s attack sustained no casualties, with Renamo saying that their leader escaped unhurt, though it did not release any details over his whereabouts.

The country’s defence ministry confirmed the military operation against the rebel group, saying the attack was in retaliation for their assault against a government military unit, conducted on October 18.

Tensions between Mozambique Liberation Front, also known as Fremlio and Renamo have been escalating since last year, after the group’s leader Afonso Dhlakama set up a camp in the Gorongosa Mountains to retrain former guerilla fighters.

Renamo, which became an official opposition after signing the peace deal with the Frelimo-led government in 1992, has demanded to have more representation on election bodies and in the military.

It has also threatened the government with disturbing the upcoming municipal elections, if their demands are not met.

The Frelimo-led government and Renamo rebel group had been engaged in a civil war for 16 years, following the southern African country’s independence from Portugal in 1975. The battle, in which almost one million Mozambicans lost their lives, was brought to an end in 1992, following the peace treaty between the two sides.