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Maputo (AFP) – Mozambique's main opposition party and rebel movement, Renamo, began Tuesday to disarm members of its armed wing as part of a future peace agreement providing for the reintegration of combatants. in the country's armed forces.
At a symbolic ceremony attended by Renamo leader, Ossufo Momade, government officials and international military experts, four fighters surrendered their weapons and officially left their base in the central mountains of Gorongosa.
The four fighters then headed to a special military center created to help them prepare to reintegrate into society.
Another 46 members of the militia are expected to surrender their weapons soon.
The 5,221 Renamo fighters have to surrender their arms to the government, a prerequisite for the peace agreement that is expected to be signed next month.
This would end a long process of peace negotiations initiated by Renamo's historic leader, Afonso Dhlakama, who died last May.
In the mid-1970s, Renamo waged a brutal civil war that lasted 16 years against the government, which killed a million people before the end of the conflict in 1992.
It turned into a political party but took up arms in 2013 to challenge the ruling party, Frelimo, in power since Portugal's independence from Mozambique in 1975.
Renamo declared a ceasefire in 2016 under Dhlakama, which pursued a peace agreement until his death.
"From this historic ceremony of great symbolism, we hope that the values of peace will prevail and that we will never make the mistakes of the past," said Momade at the ceremony, according to local press.
The disarmament agreement provides for the integration of some militias into the army and police, while others will enter civilian life after receiving financial badistance to help them get started. in place.
If the peace agreement is signed next month as planned, it will be the third agreement between Renamo and the government.
The previous two agreements failed in part because Renamo never surrendered all its weapons and kept some of its men in the woods, accusing the government of not respecting the agreement.
The international community mediates the disarmament of Renamo through a commission of military affairs, which includes experts from the United Nations and some Western countries.
The beginning of disarmament comes two months before the general elections and one month before Pope Francis' visit to Mozambique, where he should pray for peace and national reconciliation.
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