Extremist violence in Mozambique fueled by western gas extraction in the region

The extremely violent jihadism in the northeast of Mozambique is related to the activities of Western companies in the region, including Dutch companies. Gas extraction plays a major role in the region.

The worlds of the jihadists and this one gas companies have clearly clashed in recent days after fighters from a Mozambican Islamist group seized the port city of Palma. Dozens of people were murdered, including South African and British expats working for the French gas company Total. Thousands of Mozambicans and expats fled.

Total gas production headquarters are located in Palma. The Dutch dredging company Van Oord provides manual and tensioning services for the construction of the pipelines and the Dutch Ministry of Finance is considering taking out credit insurance for this amount of 600 million euros.

Van Oord stated this week that it had moved its four ships to the more southern city of Pemba. A spokesperson previously called the situation to NRC distressing, but withdrawal from the gas project is premature, he says.

Jihadist uprising

Violence in northeast Mozambique began in 2017, seven years after one of the world’s largest gas bubbles was found off the coast. Investments in the gas industry exploded, but the local population lagged behind.

The jihadist uprising started out of the local population’s dissatisfaction with the neglect of Cabo Delgado, a province where mostly Muslims live. Mozambique is predominantly Christian.

But violence has increasingly turned against the civilian population in recent months. More than 2,500 Mozambicans were killed in mass beheadings and clashes between the jihadists and the government army.

Correspondent Bram Vermeulen visited the region and talked to refugees:

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