Local Editor
French weapons are not being used against civilians in Yemen, France’s armed forces minister Florence Parly told Radio Classique on Thursday.
Investigative website Disclose reported this week that French arms, including tanks and laser-guided missile systems sold to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, were being used in the Yemeni war against civilians.
“To my knowledge, French weapons are not being used in any offensive in the war in Yemen. I do not have any evidence that would lead me to believe that French arms are behind the origins of civilian victims in Yemen,” Parly said.
Earlier in the week, reporters accused the French government of concealing information about the deployment of these weapons - including battle tanks, artillery, helicopters, and fighter jets - against the civilian population.
Journalists claim to have uncovered the "massive use" of French-made weapons in war-torn Yemen through a leak of secret military documents.
Radio France and investigative reporters from the NGO Disclose say they have obtained a classified 2018 report about French arms sold to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which form part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi revolutionaries in Yemen since 2015.
The paper was allegedly compiled last September by France's military agency DRM and handed over to President Emmanuel Macron and other cabinet-level officials. It apparently contains a list of all French weapons deployed in Yemen by the two Arab monarchies.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
