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April 26th, 2016 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Renamo gunmen seized control over several locations in the Chiramba region of Mozambique’s Sofala province reported a local source for nsnbc, confirming reports that Renamo, on Sunday, launched a campaign in the attempt to establish administrative control in several provinces.
Alfonso Dhlakama (Reuters – archives)
Renamo gunmen are also attempting to establish a de facto parallel government in the Chemba district of Sofala province. The campaign was launched after Renamo recently rejected an offer to resume direct talks between the ruling Frelimo government.
Instead, Renamo threatened that it would seize administrative control over several regions by force unless the government agreed to Renamo’s conditions.
These conditions include, among others, the involvement of international mediators and the establishment of an interim or provisional government. Renamo also threatened that it would implement administrative control by force if necessary.
Renamo suffered a devastating defeat in the last general elections, that is presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. It has seats in parliament but rejects to accept the results of the elections which were monitored and approved by international observers.
A group of Renamo gunmen attacked and seized control of the state building in Chiramba, hoisted its flag to fly above the building and proclaimed that they had seized control of the government’s functions in the region. Renamo gunmen also attacked and seized a local police station, proclaiming that the station was its new headquarter. Renamo also used local radio to inform the population about the “change of government”. Renamo gunmen sported motorcycle “police patrols” to underpin that they had seized power.
Ironically, Renamo still functions as legally recognized political party that holds seats in the country’s parliament. Both the Frelimo-led government and other political parties in Mozambique have repeatedly called on Renamo to disarm. Several legislators have lost patience with Renamo and demanded that Renamo either disarm or be forbidden as political party that is represented in parliament.
The Mozambican constitution does not allow party militia and allows one military only. Part of the peace accord that was reached in 1992 and implemented in 1993 gave Renamo and Frelimo the right to have 15,000 of their respective troops join the national military forces. Renamo never used its quota but consistently continued to demand that Renamo members should be granted high-ranking positions within the military.
International experts, including experts from the otherwise Renamo-friendly U.S. American think tank The Atlantic Council assessed in 2013 that Renamo’s military strength had diminished significantly and criticized Renamo for having many of its remaining active fighters depend on illegal poaching to survive and generate revenue of the party and its militia.
In 2012 Renamo leader Alfonso Dhlakama “went to the bush”, recalled veteran Renamo fighters and ordered the recruitment and training of new fighters. The decision to rebuild Renamo’s illegal paramilitary wing came after surveys, in 2012, showed that Mozambique held one of the world’s largest still untapped coal fields, and that Mozambique was poised to develop into the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas by 2020. Dhlakama demanded, among others, “a fair cut of the coal and gas revenue” while Dhlakama and Renamo accuse the government of nepotism.
Both local and international experts estimate that Renamo neither has the military strength to permanently seize power, let alone maintain power and establish governmental control in any part of the country for a sustained period of time. It can, however, launch terrorizing campaigns throughout the country to underpin its call for an international intervention into the domestic affairs of the country.
Another option for Renamo would be to find “external sponsors” for arms and troops. Networks of those who according to many analysts may be interested in destabilizing Mozambique by covertly supporting Renamo are primarily located in EU member States, the United States, as well as Qatar. Renamo was initially established with support from the British colony “Rhodesia” now Zimbabwe, apartheid South Africa, the United States which designated Renamo as “freedom fighters”, as well as circles in the UK and Portugal, among others. The country’s energy profile makes Mozambique prone to fall prey to renewed international interference.
It is noteworthy that Renamo was notorious for the use of child soldiers during the 16 years of civil war that ended in 1993. nsnbc received reports suggesting that Renamo also returned to the recruitment of child soldiers from among populations that have been displaced by its campaigns. The recruitment efforts are reportedly particularly targeting the several thousands of Mozambicans who have fled to Malawi.
CH/L – nsnbc 26.04.2016
Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2016/04/26/renamo-gunmen-seized-control-in-chiramba-mozambique/
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