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Agence France-Presse

Mozambique’s government and the former rebel group Renamo completed a long-awaited peace pact on Tuesday, signing a final deal aimed at ending years of conflict.
The deal was signed by President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade in Maputo’s Peace Square and witnessed by former presidents and regional and continental leaders.
Thousands of people applauded as the two leaders displayed the signed document, named the Maputo Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.
The pact brought the curtain down on marathon negotiations initiated by Afonso Dhlakama, the historic leader of the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo), who died in May last year.

The UN’s special envoy on Mozambique, Mirko Manzoni, said it was a “truly historic day”.
“This agreement will bring ultimate peace in a country that has seen enough suffering,” he declared.
The deal comes just two months before general elections on October 15 that the ruling Frelimo party, the dominant political force for more than four decades, is expected to win.
Renamo, founded as an anti-communist guerilla group, unleashed a civil war against the Marxist Frelimo government soon after independence from Portugal in 1975.
Mozambique braces for flooding after Cyclone Kenneth kills five
The brutal fighting – seen by many historians as a proxy conflict between East and West during the cold war – lasted 16 years. Around a million people died, many of them in a famine in 1984-5, and the country was devastated economically and left littered with landmines.
The war ended when the Soviet Union and apartheid-era South Africa scaled back their respective support for Frelimo and Renamo, leading to direct peace talks.
The rebel movement then entered politics after a 1992 peace pact was signed in Rome, paving the way for multiparty elections in 1994.

Renamo lost that vote and subsequent elections and became the official opposition party, although it retained an armed wing.
But in October 2013, Renamo renounced the 1992 peace deal after the military raided its bush camp in central Sathundjira. Clashes erupted again between government forces and Renamo soldiers, lasting until 2016.
On August 1, the two rivals signed a precursor accord in Gorongosa National Park under which they formally agreed to end military hostilities.
Meet the Rose of Mozambique, a 7.67ct ruby that dazzles in deep red
“This agreement will be successful because it is peace made by Mozambicans and for Mozambicans. A break with the past,” said Manzoni.
Among the leaders who attended Tuesday’s ceremony was President Cyril Ramaphosa of the neighbouring economic powerhouse of South Africa and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
“The signing of this agreement will pave way for peaceful elections,” Ramaphosa said.

Portugal, the country’s former colonial power, expressed “deep satisfaction … [at] the new chapter opening today”.
“This agreement, the result of a long negotiation process, represents fundamental progress in building peace,” the foreign ministry said in Lisbon.
Last week Renamo began disarming armed members as part of the peace deal. Some of the demobilised fighters will be absorbed into Mozambique’s army and police, while others will be reintegrated into civilian life.
More than 5,200 Renamo fighters are expected to surrender their weapons to the government.
Mozambique’s Bazaruto – a five-island haven both above and below the surface
But the party is suffering internal divisions.
A small group of disgruntled members is vowing not to turn in their arms and refusing to recognise the new leader Momade, who has already been nominated as Renamo’s presidential candidate for the October elections.
Nyusi warned last week that any Renamo fighters who chose not to hand in their weapons under the ongoing disarmament programme would be “hunted down”.
Tuesday’s signing also comes as Nyusi’s government is battling a jihadist insurgency in the north that has killed more than 250 people since October 2017.


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Africa

‘Historic’ Mozambique final peace deal signed by President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade

Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi (centre left) and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade (centre right) embrace after signing a ceasefire agreement in Maputo, Mozambique, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Former Renamo fighters look on as Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade sign a peace accord at Gorongosa National Park, about 170 kilometres from Beira, Mozambique, Thursday, Aug, 1, 2019. Mozambique's president signed a permanent peace accord Thursday with the country's main opposition party Renamo to end decades of hostilities that persisted after a devastating 15-year civil war. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A crowd looks on as Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade sign a peace accord at Gorongosa National Park, about 170 kilometres from Beira, Mozambique, Thursday, Aug, 1, 2019. Mozambique's president signed a permanent peace accord Thursday with the country's main opposition party Renamo to end decades of hostilities that persisted after a devastating 15-year civil war(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

epa07751815 Mozambique’s president Filipe Nyusi (C) and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade (L) and president of Democratic Movement (MDM) Daviz Simango (R) are to sign an agreement to cease hostilities in order to formally end fighting between government forces and the armed wing of the main opposition party, Maputo, Mozambique, 01 August 2019. The understanding between the two leaders comes after the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of the members of the armed arm of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) and the handing over by the party of the officers who will join the country’s police force began on Monday. EPA-EFE/ANDRÉ CATUEIRA

South Africa court says Mozambique ex-finance minister Manuel Chang can be extradited to US

Manuel Chang, former finance minister of Mozambique, at court to fight extradition to the US in Kempton Park, South Africa on January 8, 2019. Photo: AFP

Manuel Chang. Photo: Facebook

Mozambique in mourning after Cyclone Idai kills hundreds, wrecks villages

epa07449240 Members of the Zimbabwe National Army watch as an rescued woman lies in a makeshift clinic for medical attention in Chimanimani about 500 km east of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, 19 March 2019. According to reports around 100 people have died, more than 100 are still missing and thousands are displaced as a result of the disaster. Neighbouring Mozambique and Malawi have also been affected by the cyclone. EPA-EFE/AARON UFUMELI

epa07449159 Chipo Ndlukula and her son Junior two survivors from the Cyclone Idai sit in a camp for treatment after being rescued outside Chimanimani about 500 km east of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, 19 March 2019. According to reports around 100 people have died, more than 100 are still missing and thousands are displaced as a result of the disaster. Neighbouring Mozambique and Malawi have also been affected by the cyclone. EPA-EFE/AARON UFUMELI

Cyclone Idai is the biggest natural disaster Mozambique has ever faced. Photo: AFP

Avalanche of garbage kills 17 who lived in shadow of Mozambique’s trash mountain

Rescuers carry a body of victim recovered from under a collapsed rubbish dump in Maputo, Mozambique, on Monday. Photo: EPA

epa06542681 People watch rescuers using heavy machinery as they search for bodies of victims buried under collapsed garbage piles in Maputo, Mozambique, 19 February 2018. According to reports, at least 122 people were killed in landslide at Hulene's rubbish dump in the Mozambican capital's suburbs. Firefighters and rescuers continue search operation to recover bodies buried under the garbage. EPA-EFE/ANTONIO SILVA

(180219) -- MAPUTO, Feb. 19, 2018 (Xinhua) -- People gather on the site of a garbage dump landslide in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, on Feb. 19, 2018. At least 17 people were killed and several others were injured in a landslide in a garbage dump on the outskirts of Maputo due to heavy rain on early Monday morning. (Xinhua/Celso Baife)

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Agreement aims to end years of conflict and paves way for general elections in October
Ex-rebel group Renamo has begun disarming fighters as part of the pact, but some disgruntled members are vowing not to turn in their arms



Agreement aims to end years of conflict and paves way for general elections in October. Ex-rebel group Renamo has begun disarming fighters as part of the pact, but some disgruntled members are vowing not to turn in their arms.


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‘Historic’ Mozambique final peace deal signed by President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade

Agreement aims to end years of conflict and paves way for general elections in October Ex-rebel group Renamo has begun disarming fighters as part of the pact, but some disgruntled members are vowing not to turn in their arms

Agreement aims to end years of conflict and paves way for general elections in October

Ex-rebel group Renamo has begun disarming fighters as part of the pact, but some disgruntled members are vowing not to turn in their arms