The former Mozambican rebel group Renamo said Monday it was ending its 21-year-old peace accord with its long time arch-rival, the ruling Frelimo movement.

Renamo officials made the announcement after the country’s Frelimo-controlled army attacked a base in central Mozambique where Afonso Dhlakama, the opposition group’s military leader, was staying, the Voice of America reported.

 

A Renamo spokesman said Dhlakama escaped the fighting. The Mozambican Defense Ministry said it attacked the base after a government military unit was ambushed last week by suspected Renamo fighters.

Renamo, Mozambique's main opposition party, fought Frelimo during a civil war between 1975, when Portuguese colonial authorities granted Mozambique independence and 1992.

Close to 1 million people died during the 17-year civil war. Since the end of the war, Mozambique has operated as a multiparty democracy.

 

The economy has been booming since 1992, the BBC reported Tuesday

 

Frelimo has ruled the country since it became independent in 1975.

Although Mozambique has been generally peaceful since a peace agreement was reached in 1992, tensions have mounted in recent months, with Renamo accusing the Frelimo of seeking to monopolize government power and the latter accusing Renamo of staging attacks on government forces.


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