Mozambique forces have killed leader of the Renamo rebel faction, Mariano Nhongo.
Mariano Nhongo, the leader of a hardline faction of the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo), was killed in combat, according to Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces (FDS).
Nhongo was killed along with one of his collaborators, Ngau Kama, in Sofala province at around 7 a.m. on Monday, according to security officials, after intense fighting in the forests where he was hiding.
Despite local and international efforts to demilitarize Mozambique, Nhongo, a hardline commander, had resisted laying down arms. President Filipe Nyusi recently stated that FDS had reached out to Renamo.
Renamo had fought a 16-year war against the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) party until 1992, then became the country’s main opposition party. However, it still retains armed fighters.
Since 1992, there have been three peace accords between Frelimo and Renamo. All failed to be fully implemented, with the most recent being signed in August 2019.
Nhongo and his men opted out of Renamo after Ossufo Momade was elected its president.
Nhongo was accused of being behind small attacks against the population in central Sofala and Manica provinces that have claimed 30 lives.
Before his death, he declined to meet with Renamo’s leadership for talks.
He also repeatedly asked President Nyusi to sign a new peace agreement, terming the one inked with Momade in August 2019 as ineffective.