Seven survivors and family members of victims of a militant attack in Mozambique filed a complaint against TotalEnergies for “involuntary manslaughter and failure to provide assistance to a person in danger”, RFI reports.
The French oil company, which at the time was in charge of a large-scale gas project in the area, is accused of negligence and of failing to secure the safety of its subcontractors during the attack on Palma in March 2021, which was carried out under the banner of the Islamic State.
White contractors were prioritised for evacuation ahead of black locals during a rescue operation following the attack by insurgents, according to Amnesty International. In a report compiled from interviews with 11 black survivors, Amnesty said that even dogs were pulled to safety before black people by a helicopter that airlifted civilians from a hotel where they had sought refuge.
The attack on Palma left dozens of Mozambicans and foreigners dead, according to the government, and displaced tens of thousands. It marked a major intensification in a conflict that has wreaked havoc across Cabo Delgado province for more than five years.
The attacks occurred after French energy giant Total announced that work would gradually resume at a liquified natural gas project in the region.
Cabo Delgado remains deep in crisis almost five years after extremist violence began in the region. Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado has come under attack by militants – causing the deaths of more than 3,000 people and displacing over 850,000 others – leading to a humanitarian crisis. The attacks – many of which were accompanied by atrocities – included beheadings and the destruction of public and private infrastructure.
