Philip Maver was among thousands of expats and locals caught up in the deadly attack on the gas center of Palma. Photo: RA International Website < p>French oil giant Total has denied «manslaughter» in the death of a 50-year-old Briton whose body was discovered by SAS.
TotalEnergies on Wednesday said it rejected it alleging he played a role in the deaths after receiving formal complaints from families of people killed in a terrorist attack surrounding one of his projects in Mozambique.
Islamist rebels launched an attack on the port city of Palma in March 2021. and killed scores of civilians around the Afungi LNG project in Mozambique, which is part-owned by TotalEnergies.
Seven complainants from the UK and South Africa — three survivors and four relatives of victims killed in the ambush — accused TotalEnergy of failing to ensure the safety of subcontractors and lack of adequate safety or evacuation plans.
The allegations, filed in French courts, can now be investigated by a French judge.
Those killed include Philip Mawer, 50, from Somerset, whose body was found by the SAS. He worked for RA International, a Dubai-based company that provides housing and other logistics to foreign workers.
The new complaints relate to attacks by the ISIS-linked jihadist group al-Shabab in 2021, during which 150 people, including TotalEnergies subcontractors, took refuge at the Amarula Lodge hotel awaiting rescue.
They claim that a helicopter operated by DAG, a South African private security company, was unable to rescue them due to lack of fuel.
They accuse TotalEnergies of denying fuel requests on the grounds that they do not want to be associated with DAG.
Those trapped at the Amarula Lodge, the plaintiffs say, , attempted to escape with a convoy of vehicles, which was then ambushed, resulting in several deaths.
Seven people filed a complaint. Three of them survived the attack, including Nick Alexander, a dual British-South African citizen who escaped after spending two nights crawling through the bush.
The other four claimants are families of those killed, including Mark and William Mawer, brothers of Philip Mawer, and Janique Armstrong, widow of Adrian Nel, a South African.
Henri Tullies, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said: «It is quite rare that a company could be charged and held liable for indirect manslaughter… But here we are dealing with a series of negligences that contributed to a situation that led to a death.» many people».
TotalEnergies said in a statement: “Mozambique LNG has taken the measures necessary to deal with the emergency, including a pre-established evacuation plan.”
It said the security plan for the Mozambique LNG group stipulated that subcontractors would shelter in place and be evacuated by ferry.
TotalEnergies confirmed that it refused to support DAG. It said: «In 2020, the company was contracted by the Government of Mozambique to conduct offensive military security missions against terrorist groups in northern Mozambique.
«During 2020, several NGOs reported serious crimes against local population, allegedly committed by DAG. For these reasons, Mozambique LNG has decided that it will not support offensive military operations carried out by DAG.”
TotalEnergies, which is also a major player in the UK energy industry, wants to exploit the huge gas reserves that have been discovered. in the Afungi region of Mozambique.
The project has long been controversial as it has involved the displacement and relocation of thousands of people from their homes, farmland and fisheries.
TotalEnergies said, that the security situation has improved in the region, where it plans to restart the project before the end of the year.
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