Yemen's Authorities Demand Withdrawal Of UAE Troops From LNG Production Site - Governor

Umer Jamshaid Published September 12, 2019 | 12:11 AM

The authorities of southeastern Yemen's Shabwah province accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of turning a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production site into a military base and demanded the withdrawal of Emirati troops

DOHA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2019) The authorities of southeastern Yemen's Shabwah province accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of turning a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production site into a military base and demanded the withdrawal of Emirati troops.

"The UAE turned the LNG exporting site in Balhaf [industrial port town in Yemen] into a military base, the Yemeni government demanded that the Emirati troops be removed from Balhaf so that we can restart this industry," Shabwa's Governor Mohammed Saleh bin Adeow said Wednesday, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

He also noted that after separatists from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) attempted to seize Shabwah, the local authorities "were making efforts to stabilize the situation in the province using security forces and the army."

Earlier in September, the province's government announced that they had begun implementing a new plan to counter the security challenges caused by the military confrontation with the STC separatists.

Yemen's operator of the country's single export plant suspended the production of liquefied natural gas at the site in Balhaf in April 2015 due to the military conflict in the country's south, as hostilities broke out near the production facility, where the UAE have stationed their military base.

The UAE is a part of the Saudi-led coalition that was asked to assist Yemen in its fight against the Houthis. Abu Dhabi has denied claims that it supports the separatists.

The armed conflict in Yemen between government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthis has been ongoing since 2015. The United Nations has repeatedly called the Yemeni conflict the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 24 million people - more than 80 percent of the country's population - currently in need of aid.