Lawmakers call for answers on massacre at TotalEnergies African gas plant

BRUSSELS — Six members of the European Parliament have formally urged the European Commission to address human rights abuses involving Mozambican soldiers operating out of a TotalEnergies’ natural gas plant. 

In a written inquiry submitted last week to the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the lawmakers highlighted a 2021 massacre, first reported by POLITICO, in which Mozambican commandos abducted, raped and killed dozens of civilians. 

The soldiers accused villagers who had fled their homes of being members of an Islamist insurgency, then crammed them into shipping containers and subjected them to beatings and starvation over three months. Of those captured, only a small portion survived.

“Recently, reports have come to light of heinous crimes committed in Afungi by Mozambican soldiers working for the French company TotalEnergies,” the lawmakers said in their written question. 

The French energy giant had contracted a Mozambican security unit to defend the plant despite warnings that some soldiers had allegedly carried out human rights abuses. 

TotalEnergies told POLITICO it had “no knowledge of the alleged events described” nor “any information indicating that such events took place.”

The lawmakers are pressing the Commission to call on the Mozambican government to hold accountable and punish those responsible for the atrocities. They also seek clarity on the EU’s stance regarding the involvement of TotalEnergies, a company headquartered in the bloc, and called on the Commission to enforce EU regulations mandating companies mitigate their negative impacts on human rights.

In response to a question by POLITICO, the Commission said it would address the matter through Parliament.