admin“The head of state is open to receive Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama next week in Maputo,” government spokesperson Alberto Nkutumula said.
Bloody clashes since April marked increasingly strained relations between ruling party Frelimo and Renamo.
Last Monday armed men attacked a military convoy in central province Sofala.
Three days earlier, armed groups fired on a bus and two trucks, killing at least two civilians. Renamo distanced itself from many attacks, which mostly occurred in its strongholds in the centre of the country.
But authorities now demand the movement, which is also the official opposition party, lay down its weapons before any peace talks continue.
The two parties will start another round of talks on Monday after previous negotiations failed.
Though the government has played down the violence, there are fears of a return to a 16-year civil war that had destroyed the economy and killed one million people by the time it ended in 1992.
The unrest has threatened exports from key coal mines in the north-west. Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto suspended rail transport after suspected sabotage derailed a goods train on Monday. — AFP.
Online Reporter