Paris, France – The French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office in Paris has received a complaint filed against Total Energies accusing it of complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearances in northern Mozambique.
This comes in the wake of a massacre of civilians near the company’s liquefied natural gas project site in 2021.
The complaint was filed by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).
She confirmed that Total Energies provided financial and logistical support to a Mozambican military force involved in the abuses.
kidnappings, rapes, and murders
A 2024 Politico media investigation revealed that a local commando unit carried out kidnappings, rapes, and murders.
It lasted three months in the Afungi region, and war crimes resulted in the killing of at least 97 people.
Despite the company’s previous denials of knowledge of the events, Le Monde published internal documents confirming that Total was aware of the violations.
The crimes committed by the forces tasked with securing their project were committed, and they even continued to pay the salaries of some soldiers for a long period of time.
The complaint comes at a time when the company has announced its readiness to restart a $20 billion gas project.
It has been on hold since a jihadist attack on the city of Palma in 2021.
