France's TotalEnergies accused of complicity in 'civilian massacre’ in Mozambique

A German human rights NGO has filed a complaint in France against energy giant Total Energies for “complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance” through its financial and material support to the Joint Task Force in Mozambique, the group said in a statement.

“The oil and gas major is accused of having directly financed and materially supported the Joint Task Force, composed of Mozambican armed forces,” the statement from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) continued, highlighting that a complaint was also filed with the French National Anti Terrorism Prosecutor (PNAT).

The claim centres on the so-called “container massacre” during which soldiers allegedly paid by Total detained and tortured dozens of civilians on its gas site between July and September 2021, with only 26 of around 150 reported to have survived.

The task force was created in 2020 through a memorandum between Total's Mozambican subsidiary and the government as a security unit that would protect the French giant's LNG project operations in the country.

Under this agreement, the company also provided accommodation, food, equipment and soldier bonuses to the unit, “support that continued despite the company’s knowledge of systematic human rights violations,” ECCHR said.

The organisation bases its complaint in part on internal Total documents obtained through freedom of information requests to the project’s public financiers, some of which have already been reported on by French outlets.

The documents show that the company was aware of accusations of violence against civilians being committed by Mozambican armed forces, yet continued its support to the task force.

TotalEnergies requests human rights commission 'intervention'

Total's subsidiary Mozambique LNG previously said it had “no knowledge of the alleged events described” nor “any information indicating that such events took place”, according to ECCHR.

In a statement made public in March, TotalEnergies responded to the claims by stating that its subsidiary Mozambique LNG "conducted a review of the elements in its possession at the time of the facts which did not allow to identify any corroborating information, although Mozambique LNG had several functioning information and grievance reporting channels at its disposal."

"In October 2024, Mozambique LNG invited the Mozambican authorities to conduct an investigation on these allegations."

"In addition, TotalEnergies has requested the intervention of the Mozambican Commission on Human Rights (CNDH)," with the commission launching its own assessment in March "to ensure that the facts are duly ascertained and that the rights of the parties involved are fully respected."

In 2025, the Attorney General of Mozambique announced that a criminal investigation had been opened into the allegations, a move TotalEnergies encouraged, according to its statement.

The UK and Dutch government, which provide export finance to the LNG project, have also reportedly initiated their own investigations. To date, no judicial inquiry looking into Total's role has been opened in Europe.

“TotalEnergies knew that the Mozambican armed forces had been accused of systematic human rights violations, yet continued to support them with the only objective to secure its own facility,” ECCHR’s Clara Gonzales said in the statement.

They insist that the involvement of TotalEnergies with local armed forces and the gravity of allegations ought to lead to the opening of an investigation by French judicial authorities.

“Companies and their executives are not neutral actors when they operate in conflict zones: if they enable or fuel crimes, they might be complicit and should be held accountable,” she continued.

Internal TotalEnergies documents, including those from its security contractor, detail acts of violence against civilians committed by Mozambican armed forces from May 2020, underscoring that the company was aware of serious human rights violations carried out by the Joint Task Force in close proximity to its facility before the container massacre, according to the allegations by the NGO focused on strategic litigation.