French justice is investigating oil giant TotalEnergies for terror attack

The investigation follows a legal complaint filed by families of victims and people who survived the attack. TotalEnergies is said to have failed to adequately protect staff deployed for a major gas project in the country. TotalEnergies would also not have supplied fuel for helicopters to evacuate people.

This situation arose after militants affiliated with the IS terrorist group killed dozens of people in the Mozambican port city of Palma on March 24, 2021. The attack in Cabo Delgado province lasted several days and killed hundreds of people. Some victims were beheaded and thousands of people fled their homes.

TotalEnergies does not agree with the accusations. A spokesperson for TotalEnergies, contacted by the French news agency AFP on Saturday, reiterated an earlier statement saying the company “firmly rejects the allegations.” He said teams in Mozambique had provided emergency assistance and enabled the evacuation of 2,500 people from the factory, including civilians, staff, contractors and subcontractors.