Mozambique's former rebel group, Renamo, says it is ending its 1992 peace deal with the ruling Frelimo party, raising fears of renewed violence in the country.
Renamo officials say they are making the move because government forces captured a base where their leader, Afonso Dhlakama, was staying. They say Dhlakama escaped during Monday's fighting.
The defense ministry confirmed earlier Monday that its forces had taken over the base in a remote part of the Gorongosa mountains. The ministry said it attacked the base in response to an assault by suspected Renamo fighters against a government military unit last week.
The two sides have carried out several deadly attacks against each other in the past year.
A worrying sign that yet another country in Africa may descend into violence.
A liberal’s disagreement with a socialist or social democrat comes down to this: we both seek equality, but the only equality a liberal thinks is worth striving for is an equality of freedom. A liberal’s disagreement with conservatives comes down to this: we both seek freedom, but a liberal believes no one can achieve it alone. There is such a thing as society, and government’s purpose is to shape a society in which individual freedom can flourish. (Michael Ignatieff)