ECCHR has filed a complaint with France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor accusing TotalEnergies of "complicity in war crimes" over alleged abuses at its Mozambique LNG site between July and September 2021. Reports — including reporting by Politico — say soldiers protecting the site detained up to 250 civilians in containers, with only 26 reportedly surviving after beatings, torture and killings. ECCHR says internal documents show TotalEnergies was aware of allegations from May 2020 but continued support; TotalEnergies and Mozambique LNG deny knowledge. The company plans to seek approval to restart production in 2029 and has requested coverage of roughly $4.5 billion in cost overruns from Mozambique.
NGO Files Legal Complaint Alleging TotalEnergies' Complicity in Mozambique War Crimes
ECCHR has filed a complaint with France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor accusing TotalEnergies of "complicity in war crimes" over alleged abuses at its Mozambique LNG site between July and September 2021. Reports — including reporting by Politico — say soldiers protecting the site detained up to 250 civilians in containers, with only 26 reportedly surviving after beatings, torture and killings. ECCHR says internal documents show TotalEnergies was aware of allegations from May 2020 but continued support; TotalEnergies and Mozambique LNG deny knowledge. The company plans to seek approval to restart production in 2029 and has requested coverage of roughly $4.5 billion in cost overruns from Mozambique.
04:09 PM, 11/18/2025Conflict
NGO lodges complaint against TotalEnergies over alleged abuses at Mozambique LNG site
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), a Germany-based rights organisation, said it filed a legal complaint on Monday with France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor accusing TotalEnergies of "complicity in war crimes" related to alleged abuses at its Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Cabo Delgado.
The complaint focuses on alleged incidents between July and September 2021 involving soldiers from a joint task force (JTF) deployed to protect the gas site after a 2021 jihadist attack suspended operations. ECCHR says its evidence includes internal documents indicating TotalEnergies was aware as early as May 2020 of accusations that Mozambican armed forces had committed violence against civilians, yet the company continued to support the JTF.
"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," said Clara Gonzales, ECCHR's co-programme director for business and human rights, in the organisation's statement.
Reporting by Politico cited sources alleging soldiers linked to the site detained up to 250 civilians in shipping containers for roughly three months on suspicion of supporting jihadists. Those detained were reportedly beaten, tortured and, in many cases, killed; Politico reported only 26 survivors. Mozambique LNG, the project vehicle, told ECCHR it had "no knowledge of the alleged events described" and "no information indicating that such events took place."
Last month, a coalition of Mozambican and international NGOs additionally accused TotalEnergies of effectively holding Mozambique "hostage" by demanding highly favourable terms to restart the project. TotalEnergies holds a 26.5% stake in the venture and has said it hopes to resume production in 2029, but that resumption depends on approval of a revised budget that includes around $4.5 billion in cost overruns linked to the delay — which the company says should be covered by the Mozambican government.
This legal complaint underscores growing scrutiny of multinational companies' responsibilities in conflict-affected areas and raises questions about corporate due diligence, security arrangements and accountability for possible human rights violations.