Winchester, United Kingdom, Sept. 23, 2026 (Lusa) - The French oil company TotalEnergies cited suspicions of human rights violations as the reason for refusing to assist the South African private paramilitary group Dyck Advisory Group (DAG) during the 2021 terrorist attack in Palma.
This justification was included in two written statements from TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 (TEPMA1), a subsidiary of the French oil company, which were read out during the inquest into the death of the British national Philip Mawer, currently taking place in Winchester, south-west of London.
Dated 2023 and 2025, the written statements, read out by the coroner Jason Pegg, refer to concerns regarding respect for human rights and the company's «code of conduct».
«TEPMA1 had no contract with DAG,» it stressed, noting that the group «had been publicly accused of human rights violations», which led it to respond that it «could not provide support».
This was despite acknowledging that «DAG was operating under the supervision of the Mozambican authorities».
Founded in 2021 as a private military security firm, the Dyck Advisory Group is used by governments and companies to provide security for sites, assets and individuals, as well as services such as demining.
Its operatives, mostly former military personnel, are also regularly described by analysts and in the press as «mercenaries» because they are involved in armed combat.
In a report published in early March 2021, Amnesty International alleged, based on accounts from 53 witnesses, that «DAG operatives fired machine guns from helicopters, indiscriminately threw hand grenades at crowds and also repeatedly fired on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and homes».
These incidents related to clashes during another attack on Mocímboa da Praia, in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, in 2020.
The humanitarian organisation also noted that the DAG had reportedly been hired by the Mozambican government to counter incursions by armed groups, although Maputo has never officially confirmed this.
On Monday, the second day of the inquest, DAG's chief executive, Max Dyck, stated that he had repeatedly requested assistance from TotalEnergies following the attack launched on 24 March 2021 by Islamic insurgents on Palma, in northern Mozambique.
The French oil company is the main operator of a major natural gas exploration project on the Afungi peninsula, in Cabo Delgado province.
DAG requested access to the secure Afungi complex to refuel and land its helicopters overnight, as it was closer to Palma than the city of Pemba, situated some 370 kilometres away, where they were based.
The request was refused, although Afungi did receive the approximately 240 people whom DAG rescued by helicopter during the attack and in the days that followed.
«If we had been able to establish a base in the area and have a constant supply of fuel, the outcome would probably have been different and we could certainly have saved more people,» said Dyck on Tuesday.
He admitted that his helicopters fired on the armed insurgents to repel their advances at the request of the Mozambican authorities.
Further testimony read out today during the inquest from subcontracted workers, private security personnel and staff at the Amarula Hotel, where Mawer was staying, confirmed that the British national refused to leave on the 25th in a DAG helicopter, giving priority to women, children and other vulnerable people.
The British national, born in 1962, died whilst travelling in a vehicle that was part of a convoy of 17 vehicles attempting to flee the Amarula Hotel in Palma on 26 March 2021.
The vehicle was hit by a grenade thrown by the insurgents.
Mawer had been working since 2019 as the Mozambique director of RA International, a Dubai-based company that provides temporary accommodation and other logistical services.
The judicial inquiry – a standard procedure whenever a British citizen dies from unnatural causes – has been underway for two days and is due to conclude today [Wednesday].
The attack on 24 March 2021, which lasted several days, led to the suspension due to «force majeure» of TotalEnergies' project on the Afungi peninsula, situated about 10 kilometres from Palma, to exploit a huge natural gas field.
Work only resumed in early 2026.
Since 2017, Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency that has already claimed more than 6,600 lives and displaced over 1.2 million people, with sporadic incursions into the neighbouring provinces of Niassa and Nampula recorded since 2025.
Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicate that the violence in Cabo Delgado displaced 1,401 people in August and that incidents of conflict increased by 10% in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year.
Responsibility for the attacks in Cabo Delgado has been claimed by the terrorist group Islamic State, known locally as al-Sunna wa Jamaa or Al-Shebab.
BM/AYLS // AYLS
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