Mozambique’s Human Rights Commission has opened a formal probe into allegations that government troops murdered and tortured scores of civilians near TotalEnergies’ stalled liquefied-natural-gas project in Cabo Delgado province.
The inquiry follows a Politico report citing journalist Alex Perry that soldiers locked as many as 250 people in shipping containers for three months in 2021, suspecting them of links to Islamist insurgents. Just 26 detainees are believed to have survived the beatings, suffocation and starvation, the report said.
“If verified, these acts may amount to murder, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the commission said in a statement on Friday.
Investigators have been dispatched to Palma district to interview survivors, witnesses and officials, and will meet executives from Mozambique LNG, the TotalEnergies subsidiary operating the multibillion-dollar project.
A final report will recommend accountability measures and reparations, though no completion date was given.
Mozambique LNG said last year it was unaware of any abuses between April and July 2021, the period cited by Politico.
The alleged atrocities occurred after Islamic State-linked militants overran Palma, killing or abducting hundreds and forcing the French energy major to suspend construction. Conflict-monitoring group ACLED puts the death toll from the Palma assault at more than 800, while Perry’s investigation suggests over 1,400 people were killed or disappeared.
The gas project, once touted as a lifeline for Mozambique’s economy, has remained on ice since the 2021 attack.