Sana'a- Yemen said on Wednesday it would deport a French engineer involved in an alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, that sparked riots by workers at a giant gas-exporting project in last week. Hundreds of Yemeni workers, outraged by an alleged abuse of the Koran by a French engineer, destroyed facilities and houses of foreign experts at the project that was under construction at the Belhaf port in south-eastern Yemen on March 25.
Outraged workers also set a helicopter on fire as it landed at the Arabian Sea port, some 580 kilometres from the capital Sana'a, after claims that a French engineer kicked and tore the Koran apart.
A statement issued by the Interior Ministry, however, said an ad hoc investigation commission had concluded that the "claimed desecration or abuse of the Koran could not be substantiated."
It said that a dispute between the Frenchman, whose name was not given, and a Yemeni employee was behind the "rumour" that spread among the Yemeni workers and set off violent protests and riot.
Three workers were injured in clashes with police forces. No casualties were reported among the foreign workers as security forces managed to evacuate them swiftly.
The Interior Ministry's statement said the commission "decided to obligate the company running the project to dismiss the French engineer and return him back to his home country."
It also recommended that the Yemeni employee who involved in the disputed be moved to another job in the project, said the statement.
Yemen, located on the south-western tip of the Arabian peninsula, is looking to exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to its dwindling oil reserves.
The 3.7-billion-dollar LNG project is the most important in the history of the country that is a small producer of about 380,000 barrels per day of oil.
Exports of crude oil represent more than 90 per cent of Yemen's export revenues and more than 70 per cent of budget revenues.
The project is run by the Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas Company, which is a joint venture owned by the state-run Yemen Gas Company, French oil giant Total, US Hunt Oil Company, as well as Kogas and Hyundai from South Korea.
The project was expected to generate the largest single revenue for the country. The Yemeni government expects the project to generate up to 20 billion dollars over the course of 20 to 25 years after its completion in 2008.
