Mozambique’s civilians defenceless as armed forces defend Total’s gas project
By
David Whitehouse
Reserved for subscribers
Posted on
January 11, 2021 16:03
French oil major Total this month begun to remove some staff from the site of its planned Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on the Afungi Peninsula after Islamist insurgent attacks came close to the site.
A direct assault on Afungi would be counter-productive for the Islamic extremist rebels, says Alexandre Raymakers, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft in Cape Town. He says that the insurgents aim to take over major towns while tying down government forces at “hyper-defended” LNG projects.
That, he says, will enable them to “create a narrative that the government can’t defend its own