MAPUTO. — The mayor of Nampula city in northern Mozambique was reportedly killed outside his home, as the southern African country marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the 1992 peace accord.

According to BBC, Mahamudo Amurane was shot three times in the abdomen by an unknown gunman after he led a ceremony to celebrate the Day of Peace. The Day of Peace is a public holiday to commemorate the 1992 signing of an accord to end a 16-year civil war between the ruling Frelimo and opposition Renamo parties.

The motive behind Amurane’s killing remains unclear. The report said: “Amurane was a member of the opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement, but fell out with it.” He was reportedly planning to seek re-election in the October 2018 municipal elections as an independent candidate. Reports in 2016 said that an opposition negotiator and member of a joint commission, established to find ways to end a standoff between the government and Renamo, was killed while out jogging in the capital Maputo. The killing of Jeremias Pondeca, widely seen as an attempt to scupper the talks, was roundly condemned by the international community and President Filipe Nyusi.

Renamo has refused to accept the results of a 2014 election, where it was beaten once more by the ruling Frelimo party, which has been in power since the former Portuguese colony’s independence 40 years ago Renamo’s armed wing has in recent years staged a string of deadly attacks in central Mozambique as it fights to make its voice heard, and for a greater share of power.

While both sides have agreed in principle to changing the constitution, so as to allow Renamo cadres to be appointed as provincial governors, the talks have yet to result in a ceasefire. In response to the apparent assassination of Amurane, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southern Africa Deprose Muchena said: “The killing of Mahamudo Amurane is tragic, deplorable and deeply suspicious.

“Since coming into office in 2013, the Nampula City mayor had bravely tackled corruption head on. It is no secret that this made him a target of attacks, even within his own Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) party. — News24/Amnesty International.

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