This massacre happened 4 years ago, but we knew very little about it until this week.
France launches manslaughter probe against TotalEnergies over 2021 Mozambique massacre
French prosecutors on Friday launched an investigation into involuntary manslaughter and failure to assist persons in danger against TotalEnergies over a 2021 attack in Mozambique by jihadist militants near a major gas field. An independent investigator put the number of dead or missing in the attack at 1,402 people, including 55 Total subcontractors.
Issued on: Modified:
French prosecutors in Nanterre west of Paris said Saturday they had opened a manslaughter investigation against energy giant TotalEnergies following a bloody 2021 jihadist attack in Mozambique.
Survivors and relatives of victims of the attack near a major gas field in northern Mozambique launched legal action against the oil and gas giant in October 2023, accusing it of failing to protect its subcontractors.
Based on that complaint, prosecutors launched a preliminary inquiry in May of 2024.
The energy giant reiterated its denial of any wrongdoing in a statement issued later on Saturday.
"TotalEnergies has been informed of the opening of a judicial investigation into the Mozambique terrorist attacks of March 2021," the energy giant said.
"The Company categorically rejects these accusations."
Repeating comments it had made at the time of the original complaint, TotalEnergies said teams from the Mozambique LNG project had provided emergency assistance and evacuated more than 2,500 people.
The investigation will determine whether there are grounds to take TotalEnergies to court.
Islamic State group-linked militants killed dozens of people in the port town of Palma in March 2021, sending thousands of people fleeing into the surrounding forest.
The attack in Cabo Delgado province lasted several days. Some of the victims were beheaded.
TotalEnergies halted its $20 billion liquified natural gas (LNG) project after the attack but is now hoping to restart it.
In a statement released at the time the complaint was filed in 2023, the company had "strongly rejected these accusations".
Seven British and South African complainants – three survivors and four relatives of victims – accuse TotalEnergies, which was known as Total in 2021, of failing to take steps to ensure the safety of subcontractors before the assault.
Mozambique's government has said around 30 people were killed. But Alex Perry, an independent journalist who carried out a five-month investigation into the massacre, counted 1,402 people dead or missing, including 55 Total contractors.
Al Shabab group (no link to the Somali group of the same name), which carried out the attack, had been active in Cabo Delgado province since 2017.
Total is also accused of refusing to provide fuel to a South African security company that organised helicopter rescues from a besieged hotel during the attack.
The company eventually ran out of fuel, leaving people stranded inside.
'Climate bomb'
Janik Armstrong, a Canadian whose husband Adrian Nel was killed in the siege, told reporters in 2023 how Nel held out under siege for two days at Amarula Lodge with 150 others "waiting for a rescue by Total or the Mozambican security forces that never came".
She said when they realised that "they had been abandoned", they tried to break out in a convoy of cars but came under fire from the gunmen, and her husband was killed.
TotalEnergies has said that "all the staff of Mozambique LNG and its contractors and subcontractors had been evacuated", mostly by boat.
The attack triggered the deployment of forces from Rwanda and southern African countries which have since helped Mozambique retake control of much of Cabo Delgado.
TotalEnergies is hoping to restart the long-delayed project, and this week the US Export-Import Bank approved a $4.7 billion loan for the company.
TotalEnergies has a 26.5 percent stake in the project, which aims to export gas mainly to clients in Asia.
Several NGOs issued a joint statement on Friday calling on European and Asian financiers "to refuse to follow this toxic and irresponsible lead and to oppose the restart of the project, a climate bomb associated with numerous allegations of human rights violations".
Climate bomb - Good grief!
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
Democratic Republic of Congo: Muslims raid village at 2AM, kill four people with machetes, burn houses
“People are in shock, the lack of security leaves them most vulnerable due to these repeated attacks.”
Why can’t the Congo government stop the Allied Democratic Forces? Who is funding them? Who is equipping them?
ADF Rebels Attack Ngite Village, Kill 4
International Christian Concern, March 11, 2025:
3/11/2025 DRC (International Christian Concern) — The evening of March 8, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels launched a violent attack on the village of Ngite in Beni territory, North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killing four people.
Among those who died was a woman who was burned alive in her house. Three houses were set on fire, animals were taken, and other people were kidnapped, leaving the community in mourning and fear.
“They came around 2 a.m. and started killing people with machetes,” said Jean, an eyewitness to the attack. “The screams echoed until around 5 a.m.”…
Katembo Kisaki Louis, president of the Batangi-Mbau civil society group, arrived at the scene of the attack early the following day.
“The destruction was devastating,” he said. “People are in shock, the lack of security leaves them most vulnerable due to these repeated attacks.”…
Somalia: Officials meet in hotel to discuss strategy against jihadis, jihadis besiege hotel, murder seven people
Once again it appears as if the jihadis are stronger than government forces. Who is funding them? Who is arming them? We are. CNN reported in 2018: “The murderous al Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab is making millions of dollars each year by exploiting foreign aid money sent to Somalia by the very western nations who are trying to eliminate the terror group.”
At least 6 killed in a militant attack on a hotel in Somalia
by Omar Faruk, Associated Press, March 11, 2025 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A car bomb exploded Tuesday at a hotel in the central Somali city of Beledweyne in a militant attack that killed at least six people, including two prominent traditional elders, according to witnesses.
The explosion targeted the Cairo Hotel, which houses traditional elders and military officers currently involved in coordinating the government’s offensive against the militant group al-Shabab….
“Six people, including two well-known traditional elders, were killed in the attack,” said Muhsin Abdullahi, a resident who spoke to The Associated Press by phone. He added that several wounded were hospitalized….
=======================
Somali and AU forces end 15-hour siege at Hotel Cairo in Beledweyne after Al-Shabaab attack
Hiraan Online, March 12, 2025:
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali government forces, supported by African Union troops, successfully ended a 15-hour siege at Hotel Cairo (Qahira ) in Beledweyne, which had been attacked by Al-Shabaab militants early Tuesday morning. The assault, which began with a large car bomb explosion, resulted in at least seven confirmed deaths, including traditional elders, military officers, and civilians. Several others were injured in the attack.
The siege occurred as government officials and traditional leaders were meeting at the hotel to discuss plans for an upcoming military offensive against Al-Shabaab in central Somalia. The city of Beledweyne, located about 335 kilometres (208 miles) north of Mogadishu, is considered a key location in the ongoing battle against the militant group, which controls parts of rural Somalia and seeks to establish a strict interpretation of Islamic law. The hotel, located in the heart of the city, has served as a focal point for political discussions and planning in the region.
The attack began with a bomb explosion followed by gunmen storming the hotel, triggering intense clashes between the militants and Somali security forces. According to witnesses, explosions and gunfire rocked the area as the attackers, who were reportedly armed with heavy weaponry, engaged in a standoff with security forces. Large parts of the hotel were left in ruins as government troops cornered the gunmen….
No comments:
Post a Comment