{{Mozambique’s President Armando Guebuza warned on Sunday he would respond firmly to deadly weekend attacks against civilian vehicles blamed on armed members of the former rebel group Renamo.}}
President Guebuza condemned the “criminal act” against civilians in remarks carried by the State radion channel Radio Mozambique.
“As the government, we will continue to fight so that our people can live in tranquility; so that our people are not intimidated; so that our people do not live in fear”, he said.
President Guebuza said he viewed the attack as Renamo’s reply to his recent calls for dialogue with the former rebels.
“Renamo must stop their attacks and come to dialogue”, President Guebuza said. “The government is always open to talks to preserve the peace and stability in Mozambique”.
Mozambique’s armed forces also said they are ready to respond to a series of attacks by militia sympathetic to Renamo, the head of the country’s armed forces said.
Three people were killed in an attack on a bus in the central province of Sofala on April 6, while four members of Mozambique’s special police force and a Renamo militiaman died in clashes in the same area on April 4, according to the government.
“We are ready, waiting for the head of state to respond to Renamo’s initiative”, Paulino Macaringue, chief of the armed forces, told reporters after a Women’s Day ceremony in Maputo, the capital on Sunday.
Renamo, formerly backed by South Africa’s apartheid government fought a 15-year civil war against the ruling Frelimo, that ended in 1992, with a peace agreement brokered by church groups.
The former rebel movement said last year it could resume conflict and complained that elections in 2009 won by Frelimo were unfair.
Mozambique is the site of an aluminium smelter operated by BHP Bilton (BHP) while Rio Tinto and Vale SA have coal operations in the country.
Anadarko Petroleum and Eni Spa have discovered natural gas off its coast while Sasol operates a gas field.
“We are monitoring the situation closely as the priority is the safety of our employees”, Johannesburg-Sasol said in an e-mailed response to questions by Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Intercape has appointed security consultant Paul O’Sullivan to assess the security risk of travelling in the north of Mozambique following an attack on one of the company’s buses.
The bus, from the Mozambican branch of the South African company was travelling in Muxungue en route to Beira when six armed men signalled for the driver Jaime Bule, to stop the bus.
Intercape spokesperson advocate Roelien van de Walt said that when the driver saw the men were not wearing any uniform, he became suspicious and accelerated past them.
The men, who are believed to be from the former rebel group Renamo, then opened fire on the bus.
“There were 49 passengers on board and two passengers sustained minor injuries.
“Renamo has denied that they were involved in Saturday’s attacks, which left three people dead, Verdade reported. The spokesperson for the party, Fernando Mazanga, told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that Renamo “does not attack civilians — we attack those who attack us.” Mazanga warned people to be careful while travelling in Muxungué, where the attack occurred. —
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