• The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) has filed a complaint in France accusing TotalEnergies of complicity in war crimes related to its Mozambique LNG project.

• The NGO alleges TotalEnergies provided financial and material support to a Mozambican military unit, the Joint Task Force, which reportedly detained, tortured, and executed civilians near the gas site in 2021.

• TotalEnergies denies the allegations, stating it was unaware of the alleged abuses and had evacuated its personnel from the site prior to the reported incidents.

TotalEnergies faces a complaint in France for complicity in war crimes linked to its Mozambique LNG project. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) accuses the group of providing financial and material support to the Joint Task Force, a Mozambican military unit. This unit allegedly detained, tortured, and executed civilians between July and September 2021 at the entrance to the gas site.

The complaint was filed with the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office, which holds jurisdiction over international crimes. This action comes as the major recently lifted the force majeure declared after the 2021 Palma jihadist attack and seeks to restart development work on the natural gas liquefaction site.

According to the NGO, TotalEnergies' responsibility stems from financing, housing, equipping, and paying bonuses to these soldiers. This occurred despite internal information signaling violence committed by armed forces as early as 2020. The accusers also assert the energy giant knew about accusations of severe violations near its site.

The alleged facts rely notably on a 2024 Politico investigation and internal reports submitted to financiers. These reports describe the confinement of 180 to 250 men in containers, where several reportedly died from suffocation, torture, or summary executions. Only 26 survivors were discovered after the intervention of Rwandan forces.

TotalEnergies disputes these allegations. The company maintains it was unaware of these facts, its personnel had vacated the site by April 2021, and no credible information about such abuses reached it. The prosecutor's office must now decide on opening a formal investigation. The Mozambican government has also initiated an inquiry, and several public lenders, including UK Export Finance and Atradius in the Netherlands, are examining the accusations within the scope of their financial commitments.

This case follows a 2023 complaint filed by survivors of the Palma attack, which occurred between March and April 2021. That complaint accused the major of failing to protect its subcontractors, some of whom were killed. In 2025, the Nanterre prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation for involuntary manslaughter and failure to assist a person in danger.

For the French company, the stakes remain high. Financially, the Mozambique LNG project relies on nearly $15 billion in loans, some of which have been frozen. Pressure also mounts on banks and public bodies that supported the project, as they must assess the risk of complicity and the social and security compliance of the site.

The project's future could depend on the French prosecutor's decision, the conclusions of investigations opened in Mozambique, and the position of British and Dutch financiers. The major still awaits the Mozambican government to cover $4.5 billion in additional costs. These uncertainties could impact the project's resumption schedule, planned for 2029, as well as its international credibility.

This article was initially published in French by Olivier de Souza

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum