• President Daniel Chapo denies allegations of torture and killings by security forces protecting Mozambique LNG in 2021.

• The ECCHR has filed a criminal complaint in France accusing TotalEnergies of complicity in war crimes.

• The Mozambican government says investigations by the Prosecutor General and the National Human Rights Commission found no evidence supporting the accusations.

Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo dismissed allegations of atrocities committed in Cabo Delgado around the Mozambique LNG project, as a complaint filed in France against TotalEnergies renews scrutiny of the multibillion-dollar gas development.

Chapo rejected the accusations on Saturday, November 29, during a visit to Pemba. Politico reported on September 26, 2024, that army units allegedly tortured, starved and killed civilians in 2021 while protecting the LNG project operated by TotalEnergies.

The president, speaking from the provincial office of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), said the claims reported by Politico “are not true”. He said the conclusion followed investigations conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office together with the CNDH. He added that he had earlier sent a team to the most affected districts of Cabo Delgado to obtain “a more detailed inquiry”.

The accusations intensified over the past two weeks after the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) filed a complaint in France. The NGO accuses TotalEnergies of providing financial and material support to Mozambican security forces. The complaint covers allegations of complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearances.

According to the filing, security forces allegedly detained dozens of civilians fleeing Al-Shabab attacks between July and September 2021. Detainees were reportedly held in metal containers where they were starved, beaten and tortured. At least five people allegedly died, and several remain missing.

The ECCHR argues that TotalEnergies could not have ignored repeated accusations directed at Mozambican forces yet continued logistic and financial support to secure its operations on the Afungi peninsula in Palma.

Chapo said the government takes these accusations seriously. He added that he intends to “counter the national and international narrative that questions respect for human rights”. He also condemned what he described as “disinformation and manipulation of public opinion”.

His response comes as Mozambique LNG, one of Africa’s largest energy investments, faces sustained international monitoring. The case now depends on judicial developments in France, TotalEnergies’ reaction and the level of transparency the Mozambican government can demonstrate in this still-unstable region.

This article was initially published in French by Olivier de Souza

Adapted in English by Ange Jasopn Quenum