A former Yemeni foreign minister says French Foreign Legion, a military force comprising of foreign nationals, has arrived in the impoverished Arab country’s southern province of Shabwah to secure control of a gas facility there.
Faraan: In a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said there are French “preparations being made to export gas from the Balhaf facility … in light of increased international gas prices,” in an attempt to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian gas amid the global energy crisis exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.
He also suggested that the French move “could be the reason for recent clashes in Shabwah,” noting that the arrival of French forces to the area is meant to “provide protection for the facility.” The new development came after in July, Paris and Abu Dhabi signed an energy cooperation deal for the joint production of liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to reports from earlier in the year, the energy cooperation between the two countries is aimed at securing control over Yemeni gas resources through the Balhaf facility, which is owned by French multinational oil and gas company, TotalEnergies SE.
Following Qirbi’s comments, the parliament of the Sana’a-based National Salvation Government warned about the suspicious movements of American and French troops in the occupied areas of southern Yemen. The Yemeni parliament’s presiding board then issued a statement, cautioning against suspicious activities of forces affiliated with the US and France — two of the main Western supporters of the Riyadh-led war against Yemen, in the country’s southern occupied cities.
Parliament of Sana’a-based National Salvation Government has warned about the suspicious movements of American and French troops in the occupied areas in southern Yemen. The parliament also called for vigilance in the face of “treacherous” attempts by the Saudi-led coalition of aggressors to hinder the implementation of the UN-mediated truce, which first came into effect in April.
It further warned against the suspicious role of the so-called presidential leadership council set up by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which the legislature said was devised to advance the agenda of the US, UK, and Israel to divide Yemen and undermine its unity, sovereignty, security, and stability.
