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The French energy company Total has withdrawn all its personnel from its Afungi natural gas site in northern Mozambique, sources say, as clashes between fighters linked to the Islamic State and the military break out nearby.
The company, which last week suspended a planned resumption of construction on the $ 20 billion development due to violence, declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
The government says dozens of people have been killed since militants launched attacks in the coastal city of Palma last week, in a district near gas projects worth tens of billions of dollars that are aimed at transforming the economy of Mozambique.
The two sources, who have direct knowledge of Total’s operations, said on Friday that the company had decided to withdraw its staff as militants appeared to approach the site. They declined to elaborate.
Insurgents seized some Mozambican military positions near the Afungi site south of Palma on Friday and the situation was still very volatile, a separate security source told Reuters.
The World Food Program (WFP) said it was temporarily suspending evacuation flights from Palma for people affected by the violence, citing a deterioration in the security situation. Flights carrying humanitarian workers and food will continue, a spokesperson added.
Mozambique’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
A Mozambican army spokesman was quoted by a local radio station as saying that the Afungi site was off-limits to the militants.
“He is protected … at no time was his integrity at stake,” Radio Mozambique was quoted as saying by army spokesman Chongo Vidigal. The radio station added in its report published Thursday night that the area around the Total project was being patrolled day and night to repel any threats.
Reuters has not been able to independently verify Palma’s accounts. Most of the media was cut off after the attack began on March 24.
Aid groups believe the attack displaced tens of thousands of people, many of whom fled to safety in nearby dense wooded areas or by boat.
Insurgents linked to the Islamic State have been increasingly active in the surrounding Cabo Delgado province since 2017, although it is unclear if they have a unified goal or what they are specifically fighting for.
At least 9,150 people have fled to other Cabo Delgado districts during the latest violence, and thousands more are believed to have been displaced within the Palma district, the UN said on Friday.
“The new wave of displacement has uprooted many people who had fled their places of origin due to the conflict in other parts of Cabo Delgado and had been seeking refuge in Palma,” he said.
Total’s project is among the $ 60 billion combined energy developments that would revolutionize Mozambique’s $ 15 billion economy.
