A European non-governmental organisation has filed a criminal complaint with France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), accusing energy giant TotalEnergies of complicity in war crimes and enforced disappearances linked to a 2021 massacre near its gas facility in northern Mozambique.
The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) alleges that TotalEnergies provided financial and material support to a Mozambican joint task force implicated in the detention, torture and killing of dozens of civilians between July and September 2021.
Victims were reportedly held in shipping containers at the company’s Afungi site in Cabo Delgado province where government forces were battling Islamist insurgents affiliated with the Islamic State group.
The so-called “container massacre” followed a March 2021 jihadist attack on the nearby town of Palma, which left over 1,500 civilians dead or missing.
Investigative journalist Alex Perry, writing for Politico in 2024, documented the reprisal killings at the entrance to Total’s compound, describing it as “the bloodiest disaster in oil and gas history.”
Perry identified 97 victims although estimates suggest the true toll may be significantly higher.
“Companies and their executives are not neutral actors when they operate in conflict zones,” said Clara Gonzales, ECCHR’s co-director for business and human rights.
“If they enable or fuel crimes, they might be complicit and should be held accountable.”
PNAT, which has jurisdiction over international crimes, is expected to review the complaint in the coming weeks.
TotalEnergies has denied responsibility for the actions of Mozambican security forces assigned to protect its multi-billion-dollar LNG project, which was Africa’s largest foreign investment at the time.
The company recently announced plans to lift the force majeure declared in April 2021, pending government approval of a revised budget and an additional $4.5 billion in project costs.
JN/APA