PARIS (Reuters) – France has decided to help strengthen the air defense system of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after recent attacks on the latter claimed by Houthi rebels from Yemen, the general staff of the United Arab Emirates announced on Friday. French armies.
“Following the attacks of January 17, 2022, claimed by the Yemeni Houthi movement, which targeted Abu Dhabi and cost the lives of three people, the United Arab Emirates requested France’s support under the Defense between our two countries, signed in 1995 and reinforced in 2009”, he explains in a press release.
On January 17, three tankers carrying fuel were destroyed by drones near Abu Dhabi airport, an attack that killed three people and injured six, according to Emirates authorities.
France’s additional support takes the form, among other things, of air operations from the Al Dafra base, “in close coordination with the Emirati forces, to detect and intercept drone or cruise missile attacks targeting the UAE”, explains the staff.
A total of 650 French soldiers are currently engaged in the French forces in the United Arab Emirates (FFEAU).
(Report John Irish, written by Marc Angrand, edited by Matthieu Protard and Sophie Louet)
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