But now Renamo has shifted its strategy.
Both Frelimo and Renamo insist they want to avoid war.
Renamo wanted to"warn the international community that things
were not going well in Mozambique," Mr Mazanga said.
But concerns have grown after
Mr Mazanga was quoted as saying Renamo was abandoning the 1992 peace accord.
The ruling Frelimo party, the dominant political force since 1975, and Renamo blame each other for the tension.
Renamo, which has been pushing for electoral reforms,
had already said that it would boycott municipal elections due in November.
Foreign Policy reports that Mozambique's ruling party Frelimo
has waged a campaign of terror against suspected Renamo supporters in recent years.
No one cares about Renamo and Frelimo, they just want peace again,
they want free access to the roads," he said.
Renamo says the government initiated the latest clashes by launching an attack
on its members in Sofala province, traditionally a Renamo stronghold, on October 17.
Renamo was once a notorious rebel movement,
initially backed by white-ruled Rhodesia and then South Africa's apartheid government as part of efforts to destabilise the country's independent government.
Assaults on the former rebels then escalated as government forces attacked Renamo bases and attempted to kill Afonso Dhlakama,
the group's leader, Fernando Mazanga, Renamo's spokesman, told the Financial Times.
Renamo's share of the vote has been declining since 1992, while a newer party, the Democratic Movement of Mozambique(MDM) which was formed by a former
Renamo member, is expected to improve its showing at the elections.