
Maputo, 14 Oct (AIM) – The Defense Ministry has denied the involvement of the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS) in atrocities allegedly committed against civilians in the Afungi Peninsula, in the Cabo Delgado district of Palma, where the French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies heads a consortium which operates the Mozambique LNG project budgeted at over 20 billion US dollars.
The allegations are part of an article published on 26 September, by the European Union (EU) based newsheet “Politico”, entitled: “All must be Beheaded: Revelations of Atrocities At French Energy Giant’s African Stronghold. Mozambican soldiers operating out of Total Energies’ natural gas plant abducted, raped and killed dozens of civilians.”
In April 2021, TotalEnergies declared force majeure to suspend all activities on the project, due to a major terrorist raid against the town of Palma. Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado has been the target of terrorist attacks that have killed more than 3,000 citizens and caused more than 900,000 people to flee to safer places, triggering a humanitarian crisis.
The Mozambican government claims that the allegations are not true since the fight is against Islamist terrorists who have been plaguing parts of Cabo Delgado since 2017.
“We deplore these accusations. They are made at a time when the efforts of our forces, combined with those of allied forces [Rwandan forces], to stabilize security and restore normality are showing remarkable progress. This progress can be seen in the return of displaced people to their areas of origin, the process of reconstruction and the resumption of socio-economic activities”, reads the government document.
The government believes that the accusations that the Mozambican forces are involved in acts of torture, violence and other atrocities against civilians are not supported by any facts.
“Our forces are committed to the highest standards of military discipline and respect for human rights. The Defence Ministry expresses its total openness and willingness to accept a transparent and impartial investigation into the allegations, with a view to finding the material truth, inviting anyone who wishes to collaborate in good faith in this regard”, says the document.
The document also states that the activities carried out by the Mozambican forces in Cabo Delgado have been exclusively focused on combating terrorist acts, protecting the population and their property, as well as guaranteeing security in areas threatened by terrorists.
The document claims that the soldiers operating in Cabo Delgado are committed to the preservation of territorial integrity and respect for human rights.
The Ministry declared that “our forces act in strict compliance with International Humanitarian Law and other rules related to the promotion and protection of human rights”.
(AIM)
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