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The Conflict with Renamo, 1976-1992
«October 1990»
Dossier MZ-0020
128. "It's Frelimo that kills the people, not Renamo":
Dhlakama Interview
Above: Government soldiers (FPLM) during a daytime training exercise.
In an interview published in the Cape Town newspaper the Weekend Argus, Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, described sardonically as "His Excellency, the Warlord", claimed that Renamo was a movemen that "aimed at bringing democracy and justice to Mozambique". He claimed that multiple reports of atrocities committed by Renamo were all propaganda, and that the truth was that it was the Frelimo Party government, with help from the Zimbabweans, which was "bombing and bombing with their helicopters and warplanes". Dhlakama claimed that there were 30,000 Zimbabwean soldiers in Mozambique.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Pascoal Mocumbi denied that the government was launching a general offensive against the rebels, and reiterated the government's willingness to discuss any issues in ongoing talks. In an incident in Zambia's Eastern Province, government troops tracked down and killed an MNR group that had ambushed a bus, killing 12 passengers. Other attacks took place in Combumune, where cattle were stolen, on a train a few kilometres from the South African border, and on a village in central Zambézia, where eight people died.
Consolidated Downloadable Zipped Files
Click on the yellow folder image below to download an unsorted zipped archive of documents and press clippings in PDF format concerning the armed conflict between Renamo/MNR and the Mozambican government in October 1990.
