Mozambique
Mozambique had been a colony of Portugal for close to 400 years. Under the fascist Estado Novo regime, Portugal was determined to hold on to its remaining colonial empire, including Angola and Mozambique. The war lasted until 1974, when the Salazar regime in Portugal was overthrown. The fighting was destructive, with high military casualties and thousands of civilians killed. The independence movement had been led by the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), which grew into a Marxist political party after the war, and attempted to establish a socialist one-party state. Rhodesia and apartheid-era South Africa supported a rebel group known as the Mozambique Liberation Front (RENAMO).
A civil war began soon after independence, with RENAMO fighting a guerilla war against the government. This conflict was extraordinarily deadly, lasting until the 1990s. Both sides committed numerous war crimes, forcibly conscripting civilians, including children. The military situation became a stalemate, and it contributed to a famine that only increased civilian suffering. The war ended with a peace agreement that ended full-scale fighting, but left Mozambique with a humanitarian crisis. Over one million people had died during the conflict, with millions more displaced. Landmines left behind from the civil war continued to kill and injure civilians for decades beyond the peace agreement. With the end of the war, Mozambique became a multiparty democracy. FRELIMO continued to win every election, with RENAMO, reconstituted as a political party, as the opposition. Following a disputed election, RENAMO took up arms again in 2013, leading to another six years of fighting. Political violence has increased in recent years, some perpetrated by the government targeting opponents or election officials.
The most recent threat to peace in Mozambique comes from fighting in the northern Cabo Delgado province. Beginning in 2017 as an insurgency, the conflict soon grew to include a jihadist group which eventually became an affiliate of the Islamic State. Close to one million people have been displaced by this latest conflict, which has seen intervention by troops from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Militants have attacked large towns, including those hosting foreign energy projects, and have committed numerous human rights violations. Government forces and their allies, including the Wagner group and South African security contractors, have also committed abuses. The civilians of Cabo Delgado have suffered the most from this newest conflict, with the fighting intensifying food insecurity in the region. The government’s approach to the conflict appears to be
Peace attempts:
The first peace talks between FRELIMO and RENAMO began in 1990, with the Rome General Peace Accords signed in 1992. The agreement was an acknowledgement that there was no military solution. The agreement led to a transition to democracy, with some positive progress at first. Elections were free, fair, and competitive, although FRELIMO has won every election since the agreement. As time went on, the conduct of elections became contested, and currently democracy in Mozambique is not as transparent as it once was. To ensure peace, genuine democracy is needed, as is an end to political violence.
The renewed conflict between FRELIMO and RENAMO ended in 2019 with another peace accord, which ended fighting between the groups once again. Hopefully this is the end to armed political conflict in Mozambique, but this is only possible if there is genuine progress towards political reconciliation and an open and fair political system.
In 2015 Mozambique was declared free of landmines left in the independence and civil wars, a major step towards ensuring peace for the citizens of the country.
Total peace in the current conflict appears unlikely. The government’s approach remains militarized, with the support of a number of foreign actors. The fact that their opponent is an internationally recognized terrorist group makes negotiation far more difficult, and the group’s ideological convictions are based on violent struggle against all who do not share the same beliefs. While the bulk of the violence is the result of the conflict between the government and a terrorist organization, the insurgency began as a result of genuine local concerns, which must be addressed to ensure total peace.
