This archive report was first published on 12 October 2021.
Published on October 12, 2021, Mozambique's Defence and Security Forces (FDS) announced the killing of Mariano Nhongo, the leader of a rebel faction of the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo).
Nhongo, a hardline leader, had resisted laying down arms despite local and international efforts to demilitarise Mozambique. He was killed in combat along with one of his collaborators, Ngau Kama, in Sofala province at about 7am on Monday after intense fighting in the forests where he was hiding.
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. He was accused of being behind small attacks against the population in central Sofala and Manica provinces that have claimed 30 lives.
