Maputo (AIM) – Gunmen of the rebel movement Renamo on Thursday morning attacked the small town of Mepinha, in Morrumbala district, in the central province of Zambezia.
Source: Renamo attacks in Zambezia – The Zimbabwean 21.08.2016
Addressing a Maputo press conference later in the day, the national director of defence policy in the Defence Ministry, Cristovao Chume, said nobody was killed in the raid, but Renamo vandalized public property.
“We will not tolerate continued acts against the lives of members of the public”, warned Chume.
He said that Renamo’s goal is to perpetuate instability, and noted that the Mepinha attack occurred just hours after the Joint Commission between the government and Renamo, meeting in Maputo, had announced consensus on matters of decentralization and the possible appointment of provincial governors from Renamo.
Renamo’s recent raids, Chume added, had included attacks on small towns, with the goal of sabotaging public buildings, including health posts where medicines were stolen. They had also attacked police stations and released prisoners held there.
The Defence Ministry says there were 17 armed Renamo attacks in five provinces between 8 July and 18 August. There were four attacks in Sofala, three each in Niassa, Zambezia and Tete and two in Manica. These attacks do not include isolated murders committed by Renamo gunmen, notably in the southern province of Inhambane.
Meanwhile, Paulo Manjacunene, first secretary of the ruling Frelimo Party in Sofala, has accused Renamo members of the elected provincial assembly of training Renamo guerrillas in the bush of Gorongosa district, where Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama has his headquarters.
Speaking at a meeting of veterans of the independence war, reported by the independent television station STV, Manjacunene said three of the Renamo assembly members “travel to Gorongosa to train Renamo fighters during intervals between assembly meetings”. He did not name these three members.
“We have one Renamo in the Provincial Assembly and we have another in the bush”, he said. “In our Assembly, we have armed bandits who put on suits and ties and come here, alleging they are discussing the problems of the people. But then the same individuals go back to Gorongosa to train men to murder this same people. This is real terrorism”.
Nonetheless, Manjacunene urged the veterans to have faith in the current talks between the government and Renamo. “Dialogue is under way”, he said, “and so you should have faith that this war waged by outside interests will end. The peace that the people long for will arrive”.
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