Mozambique Ex-rebel Leader Dhlakama Laid To Rest
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published May 10, 2018 | 06:50 PM
Magunde, Mozambique, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th May, 2018 ) :Accompanied by a military gun salute, Mozambique laid to rest rebel supremo and opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama in his remote birth village Thursday after his unexpected death threw the country's peace process into uncertainty.
Thousands of mourners attended the funeral in the country's central Sofala province, a heartland of support for the Renamo group that he led for nearly 40 years. Dhlakama, who died of a suspected heart attack last week aged 65, was buried in a private family cemetery in the village of Magunde.
During his decades as leader, Renamo evolved from rebels fighting in the bloody 1977-1992 civil war to an opposition party with lawmakers in parliament while also maintaining an armed guerilla force.
After a renewed bout of unrest, Dhlakama declared a truce in 2016 and had recently pursued peace talks with President Filipe Nyusi, leader of the ruling Frelimo party. "We are burying the body, but we are not burying the ideas," his brother Elias Dhlakama said after the casket was lowered into the ground.
Some people perched on trees to watch the burial in the place Dhlakama was born on New Year's Day 1953. "We're here not only to honour our father but also to thank him," said Dhlakama's niece Teresa Marceta.
Hundreds of vehicles took mourners to the family homestead where mud and reed huts have no electricity and water supplies. Backed by apartheid South Africa, Renamo launched a bitter war against the Soviet-backed Frelimo government and fought for control of its strongholds in the north and centre of the country.
Dhlakama later then transformed Renamo into a political party which has participated in elections since the first multi-party democratic vote in October 1994. He later retreated to his wartime bush camp in central Mozambique's Gorongosa mountains, claiming the government had reneged on a 1992 peace agreement.
Renamo appointed former party deputy Ossufo Momade as its interim leader until the party's next congress.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 25 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 25 April 2024
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
More Stories From World
-
Star Dudamel brings inclusive vision to New York Philharmonic
38 minutes ago -
Paris dream of swimming in the Seine finally within reach
1 hour ago -
Portugal's Carnation Revolution, 50 years on
1 hour ago -
Tough times for Argentine factories as consumers penny-pinch
1 hour ago -
Use of alcohol and e-cigarettes among youth 'alarming': WHO
1 hour ago -
Football: Italian Cup result
1 hour ago
-
Bird flu in humans? Experts see little risk
1 hour ago -
Car giants vie for EV crown at Beijing's Auto China show
2 hours ago -
Meta profits soar but costs of AI cause worry
2 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - collated
2 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 results - collated
2 hours ago -
Meta sees profits soar in first quarter
2 hours ago