A French energy giant is facing a war crimes complaint in Paris over a massacre that took place near its multi-billion dollar gas project in northern Mozambique in 2021 – allegations the company firmly denies.
In a filing to French prosecutors, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) accused TotalEnergies of complicity in war crimes, alleging that dozens of civilians were tortured and executed by local security forces while being held in a cluster of shipping containers at a company site.
TotalEnergies has consistently rejected any responsibility for the conduct of Mozambican government troops and associated security forces assigned to protect its liquefied natural gas (LNG) development on the Afungi peninsula. The project was, at the time, the largest foreign investment in Africa.
“Companies and their executives are not neutral actors when they operate in conflict zones. If they enable or fuel crimes, they might be complicit and should be held accountable,” said Clara Gonzales, ECCHR’s co-programme director for business and human rights.
The alleged massacre was carried out by Mozambican forces in Cabo Delgado, a province rich in natural resources where the army has been battling violent Islamist militants linked to the Islamic State group, known for brutal attacks including beheadings.
In March 2021, Islamist fighters stormed the town of Palma, near TotalEnergies’ gas facility, killing or abducting 1,563 civilians living around the plant on the Afungi peninsula, according to investigative journalist Alex Perry.
Perry first reported the Palma death toll and the subsequent alleged reprisal killings at the entrance to TotalEnergies’ compound in a 2024 investigation for Politico. He has described the events as “the bloodiest disaster in oil and gas history”.
Locals who fled to the TotalEnergies site seeking protection were accused by security forces of collaborating with the insurgents. Men were reportedly separated from the group and detained in shipping containers. The precise number of those later killed by Mozambican forces guarding the project remains unknown. Perry has identified 97 victims by name but believes the true figure could be as much as twice that.
“Most people have never heard about any of this, in part because Total has acknowledged none of it. Today is a victory for truth, and accountability,” he told the BBC.
The BBC has asked TotalEnergies for comment.
The British government initially offered financial guarantees to support UK companies involved in what was promoted as a transformative economic opportunity for Mozambique. But London froze its backing after the Palma attacks.
Environmental campaigners are now urging the UK to permanently withdraw, arguing that the seriousness of the allegations against TotalEnergies should be a “red line” for any public or private financier of the Mozambique LNG project.
Lorette Philippot of Friends of the Earth France accused the company of pressing ahead despite ongoing instability.
“Total continued to demonstrate that it has learned nothing from the past: it just announced the lifting of the force majeure on its gas project, despite the dramatic security and humanitarian situation,” she said.
She called on the UK and Dutch governments to refuse to renew their financial guarantees and to pull out of Mozambique LNG, following the example of French banks Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, which have already withdrawn.
Supporters of TotalEnergies’ decision to resume work on the massive project argue it could bring jobs, infrastructure and long-term revenue to a poor and marginalised region.
But critics describe it as an environmental, ethical and financial calamity. They also draw parallels with another French multinational, Lafarge, which went on trial in France this month along with eight former executives over allegations that it paid jihadist groups in Syria to keep a cement plant running during the civil war.