Mozambique rebels kill charity worker

MAPUTO, Mozambique — Extremist rebels in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province have killed a worker for the international charity Doctors Without Borders, shortly after a former vice president of the organization was asked to produce a report into the humanitarian situation in the conflict-hit region.

Mozambique’s Islamic extremist insurgency, which started in October 2017, is blamed for the deaths of more than 3,000 people and for displacing an estimated 900,000 people.

In March 2021, the rebel violence forced the France-based firm TotalEnergies to put on hold its $20 billion liquified natural gas project in the north of the province.

TotalEnergies invoked force majeure after the insurgents attacked the town of Palma, near the gas project. Palma was later recaptured by Mozambican and Rwandan forces and the government has urged TotalEnergies to resume work on the gas project.

Last week, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne made a lightning visit to Mozambique during which he inspected the gas project site and Palma as well as the port town of Mocímboa da Praia.

At the end of the top executive’s visit, TotalEnergies announced the appointment of Jean-Christophe Rufin, to undertake “an independent mission to assess the humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado province.” Rufin is a former vice president of Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym, MSF.

Rufin’s report is due at the end of February, and TotalEnergies said it will help it and its consortium partners in the gas project to “decide whether the conditions are met for resuming project activities.”

An MSF staff member, on his day off, was fatally injured Saturday while traveling on public transport to visit his family in Pemba, MSF announced.