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MAPUTO. — Peace talks between the Mozambican government and the main opposition Renamo, resumed on Tuesday, a week after they were halted following the killing of an opposition negotiator, an international mediator announced.“We held bilateral talks today with Renamo, (and) at the same time tomorrow we will meet the government, and then we shall see,” chief mediator Mario Raffaelli, told reporters.
Jeremias Pondeca, an opposition negotiator and member of a joint commission established in May to find ways to end a standoff between the government and Renamo, was killed on October 7 while out jogging in the capital Maputo.
The killing, widely seen as an attempt to scupper the talks, was roundly condemned by the international community and President Filipe Nyusi.
Renamo, which previously waged a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992, has refused to accept the results of 2014 elections when it was beaten once more by the ruling Frelimo party, in power since the former Portuguese colony’s independence 40 years ago
Renamo’s armed wing has in recent years staged a string of deadly attacks in central Mozambique as it fights to make its voice heard and for a greater share of power.
While both sides have agreed in principle to changing the constitution so as to allow Renamo cadres to be appointed as provincial governors, the talks have yet to result in a ceasefire. — AFP.
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