Beheadings Show Peril Persists for Total in Mozambique
- Insurgent attacks have spiked since rainy season ended
- TotalEnergies’ $20 billion LNG project remains on hold
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A fresh wave of attacks by an Islamic State affiliate in northern Mozambique has prompted the evacuation of the nation’s biggest solar power plant and threatens to further delay TotalEnergies SE’s $20 billion liquefied natural gas project.
Forces from Rwanda and a southern African regional bloc have helped retake towns from insurgents who’ve been wreaking havoc since 2017, largely securing a coastal stretch around TotalEnergies’ project. But violence has recently spiked, spreading to new areas near Pemba, the Cabo Delgado province’s capital, and causing panic as IS disseminates photos of bodies it says were beheaded by its fighters.