TotalEnergies has formally denied accusations of complicity in war crimes regarding its Mozambique LNG project, stating its staff had evacuated the area months before the alleged incidents occurred.
TotalEnergies has issued a firm rebuttal following a complaint filed with the French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat), which accuses the energy major of "complicity in war crimes, torture, and enforced disappearances." The allegations focus on events that reportedly took place in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique between July and September 2021. The company describes the accusations as unfounded and factually inconsistent with the timeline of their operations in the region.
The controversy stems from a September 2024 article by the digital media outlet Politico, which alleged that Mozambican soldiers committed severe human rights abuses near the Mozambique LNG site. The legal complaint attempts to link TotalEnergies to these actions. However, in a detailed press release, TotalEnergies clarified a critical timeline discrepancy: the company had evacuated all Mozambique LNG personnel from the Afungi site in early April 2021. This evacuation was a direct response to the deadly terrorist attacks on Palma in March 2021 by Al-Shabab, an Islamic State-affiliated group.
TotalEnergies asserts that during the period in question—June to September 2021—the site was under the exclusive control of the Mozambican army, which was conducting counter-terrorism operations to restore security. "All internal verifications conducted with our stakeholders confirm that neither Mozambique LNG nor, a fortiori, TotalEnergies had received at the time any information suggesting that such acts had been committed," the company stated.
They have also expressed frustration with the reporting standards of Politico. According to TotalEnergies, the media outlet has repeatedly refused requests to share the data or documentation substantiating the alleged events. Furthermore, the company accuses the outlet of selectively using provided responses to fit an accusatory narrative. In the interest of full transparency, TotalEnergies has launched a dedicated webpage publishing all correspondence with the media outlet to allow stakeholders to judge the context for themselves.
Addressing the security framework of the project, TotalEnergies highlighted that its relationship with the Mozambican security forces was governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement was designed to support the logistical needs of a Joint Task Force (JTF) protecting the site, but it was strictly conditional on human rights commitments. This included training over 5,000 personnel in the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR). The company notes that established grievance mechanisms recorded no complaints substantiating the current allegations during that period.
To resolve the matter, Mozambique LNG formally requested an official investigation by Mozambican authorities in November 2024. Consequently, the Attorney General of Mozambique confirmed in March 2025 that a criminal investigation had been launched. Additionally, TotalEnergies has called upon the Mozambique National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) to conduct an independent inquiry, pledging to make those findings public.
