Withdrawal of Troops – 1992

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The General Peace Agreement (GPA) had a provision for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Mozambique, particularly of those from Zimbabwe and Malawi. Upon the insistence of RENAMO, the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country in the implementation phase and their replacement by UN forces in the transition stage created some tensions with the neighboring countries who had committed military forces to secure access to the trade corridors. This was an especially important issue for landlocked neighbors. The tensions emerged when the Zimbabwean Defence Minister, Moven Mahachi, said that the UN had asked for a suspension of the Zimbabwean withdrawal until strategic roads and rail corridors had been secured. This allegation, however, was denied by the UN mission and the head of the UN military observer team in Mozambique.2

Transport and Communications Minister Armando Guebuza, who was also head of the government team to the Supervision and Control Commission (CSC), said that the GPA required that the foreign troop withdrawal plan be presented to and approved by the CSC and that the implementation of that plan be overseen by the CSE. Despite the fact that the government possessed these plans, which had been drawn up in line with the views of the Malawian and Zimbabwean governments, the CSC had not yet assessed these plans.3 Reportedly, Zimbabwe had postponed the withdrawal of its 5,000 troops in Mozambique, which highlighted the shambles of the peace process there.4