Mozambique's ex-rebel group-turned opposition party, Renamo, will on Tuesday sign a final peace agreement with the government in Maputo, 27 years after the end of the first civil war.

This marks the third attempt to secure a lasting peace deal between the two long-time rivals since 1992.

It comes days after President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade penned a pact on Thursday in Gorongosa National Park agreeing to formally end military hostilities.

The pact brought to a finish the long peace negotiation process initiated by Afonso Dhlakama, the historic leader of the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) who died in May last year, and comes just months before general elections on October 15.

The impoverished southern African country votes in parliamentary and presidential polls in which the ruling Frelimo party, which has dominated power for more than four decades, is expected to win.

Renamo launched a brutal 16-year civil war against the Frelimo government shortly after independence from Portugal in 1975, a conflict that left one million people dead.

The rebel movement then entered politics after a 1992 peace pact which was signed in Rome, paving the way for multi-party elections in 1994.

Renamo lost that vote and subsequent elections and became the official opposition party.

- 'Important development' -

In October 2013 Renamo declared the end of the 1992 peace deal after the military raided its bush camp in central Sathundjira.

Clashes then erupted again between government forces and Renamo soldiers from 2013 to 2016.

Despite the end of the civil war and Renamo transforming into a political party, it retained an armed wing.

Last week Renamo began disarming armed members as part of the peace deal.

Some of the demobilised fighters will be absorbed into Mozambique's army and police, while others will be reintegrated into civilian life.

More than 5,200 Renamo fighters are expected to surrender their weapons to the government.

But the party is suffering internal divisions with a small group of disgruntled members vowing not to turn in their arms and refusing to recognise the new leader Momade, who has already been nominated as Renamo's presidential candidate for the October vote.

Nyusi warned last week that any Renamo fighters who chose not to hand in their weapons under the ongoing disarmament programme would be "hunted down".

Tuesday's signing also comes as Nyusi's administration is battling a jihadist insurgency in the north, which has claimed more than 250 lives since October 2017, and ahead of the visit to the country by Pope Francis in September.

Analysts have described the agreement which will be witnessed by President Cyril Ramaphosa from the neighbouring economic powerhouse of South Africa, as "an important development".

"The sustainability of this deal is in the hands of Mozambicans and depends on the conduct of credible elections in October 2019," said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at Chatham House in a report published Monday.

"A lasting agreement is in the national interest. It would mean that a new Mozambican government formed after the national elections can focus on gas industry development, improving services, poverty reduction and combating new security challenges, such as growing violent Islamic radicalism in Cabo Delgado," Vines said.

Mozambique urges opposition fighters to hand in weapons
Maputo (AFP) Aug 2, 2019 - Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi on Friday warned that any opposition Renamo fighters who chose not to turn in their weapons under an ongoing disarmament programme would be "hunted down".

More than 5,200 Renamo fighters are expected to surrender their weapons to the government as one of the conditions for upholding a landmark peace deal.

Signed on Thursday, the agreement is aimed at formally ending decades of hostilities between government and the opposition Renamo.

But Nyusi warned that "those who will carry out attacks or don't surrender their weapons" would find themselves pursued by the authorities.

"The government and Renamo will come together and hunt these people," Nyusi told the state-owned newspaper Not�cias.

The stern warning came after gunmen attacked vehicles on Mozambique's main highway merely hours the cessation of hostilities agreement was signed, threatening to jeapordise the peace process.

A second attack in the region was reported on Friday, but police declined to comment.

No-one has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they have been attributed to Renamo deserters refusing to recognise Ossufo Momade as the group's new leader, after Afonso Dhlakama.

Nyusi said that citizens had been threatened.

"These are enemies of peace. They are not necessarily Renamo people," he said.

The peace deal is the third between the government and Renamo.

The previous two failed partly because Renamo did not surrendered all of its weapons and accused the government of not complying with the deal.

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Mozambique govt, opposition Renamo sign historic peace pact
Maputo (AFP) Aug 1, 2019
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo opposition leader Ossufo Momade on Thursday signed a landmark agreement aimed at formally ending decades of hostilities, state TV said. The signing took place in the Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique, nearly 27 years after the end of the country's first civil war. The two leaders hugged after penning the deal on a mounted stage in Gorongosa where a white tablecloth carried the inscription "Peace: Final agreement on cessation of hostilities ... read more