WHAT ANOTHER MUSLIM COUNTRY FALLEN INTO UTTER CHAOS????
Say it isn't so.......
Oh wait, who cares?
Send in the drones...........
State Department
Rebels reportedly seize US vehicles after Yemen embassy closes
Published February 11, 2015
·FoxNews.com
Armed rebels in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa reportedly seized U.S. embassy vehicles Wednesday after diplomats fled the country over growing unrest.
Members of the embassy staff told Reuters that more than 20 vehicles were taken by Iran-linked Shiite Houthi rebels after the Americans left Sanaa’s airport.
Late Tuesday, the State Department announced that the U.S. Embassy in Yemen had been closed and evacuated after much of the country was taken over by Shiite rebels last month.
Hours later, Britain and France followed suit and ordered their citizens to leave Yemen as soon as possible.
The U.S. embassy had already been operating with severely reduced staff for several weeks. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said remaining diplomatic personnel had been relocated "due to the ongoing political instability and the uncertain security situation."
Yemen has been in crisis for months, with Houthi rebels besieging the capital and then taking control and forcing the resignation of the U.S. and Saudi-backed president and his government.
"The security situation in Yemen has continued to deteriorate over recent days," U.K. Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood said in a statement. "Regrettably we now judge that our embassy staff and premises are at increased risk." Ellwood also urged all British citizens still in Yemen to "leave immediately."
In a statement on its website, the French Embassy said it would close as of Friday.
The embassy closures were announced as Houthi rebels, armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and dressed in police uniforms and civilian clothes, patrolled the main boulevards of the capital, Sanaa, some in pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.
Scattered protests could be seen in the city, with demonstrators denouncing the Houthis for taking power and dissolving parliament. Shops closed early and helicopters also hovered overhead.
Houthis attacked one demonstration, stabbing and beating protesters trying to reach the local United Nations office, witnesses said. The rebels detained a number of people as well, they said.
Earlier Tuesday, U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the embassy closure would not affect ongoing operations against the terror group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
"The United States remains firmly committed to supporting all Yemenis who continue to work toward a peaceful, prosperous and unified Yemen," Psaki said. "We will explore options for a return to Sanaa when the situation on the ground improves."
The State Department also issued a travel warning advising U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and urging U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart.
cont:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...cmp=latestnews
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