US, UK, France close missions in Yemen amid growing tension
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THE United States, Britain and France said yesterday they were closing their embassies in Yemen amid the turmoil in the wake of the Shiite rebels’ takeover of the country.
The closures, which came as Yemen marked four years since the start of its own uprising that eventually ousted its longtime ruler, were an ominous sign for the faltering United Nations-brokered negotiations between the Houthi rebels and their political rivals.
The country has been in crisis for months, with the Iran-linked Houthis besieging the capital, Sanaa, and then taking control. In January, the rebels put President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and all his Cabinet ministers under house arrest, leading to their resignations. Subsequently, the Houthis — who are followers of the Shiite Zaydi sect in the Sunni-majority Yemen — dissolved parliament and declared they were taking over the government.
On Tuesday, the US State Department said it had suspended operations at its embassy in Sanaa and relocated remaining diplomatic personnel “due to the ongoing political instability and the uncertain security situation.”
US officials said the embassy’s closure would not affect counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida’s Yemen branch. Yemeni officials, however, said the move was likely to curtail US military operations in the country.
Yemeni officials said yesterday that embassy staffers destroyed files and documents. They also handed over Sanaa’s Sheraton Hotel, where staffers had resided for several years, to the UN.
Also yesterday, Britain’s Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood urged British citizens still in Yemen to “leave immediately” as his country’s embassy evacuated its staff. The French Embassy said it will close tomorrow.
“The situation in Yemen has continued to deteriorate over recent days. Regrettably, we now judge that our embassy staff and premises are at increased risk,” Ellwood said.
Germany urged its citizens to leave Yemen, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said yesterday.
The diplomatic missions of many Gulf Arab countries, who have backed Hadi and opposed the Houthis, have already evacuated their staff.
In Sanaa, the Houthis patrolled the streets armed with Kalashnikov rifles. They sealed off roads and drove around in trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.
The rebels dispersed several scattered anti-Houthi protests, beating the demonstrators and attacking them with knives as they tried to march toward the UN offices, according to witnesses.
Away from Sanaa, the Houthis pressed on with their power grab after taking control the previous day of the central province of Bayda, a gateway to the south. The Houthis now control 10 out of 22 provinces in Yemen.
Thousands flocked to the streets in the city of Taiz — Yemen’s third-largest and not under Houthi control — to denounce the rebels.
Houthis on rise
The rise of the Houthis began last year when they descended from their heartland in northern Saada province, fighting their way to the capital and defeating tribal and military rivals along the way. In September, they moved into Sanaa and raided major institutions and military bases.
With Yemen military in shambles and plagued with tribal rivalries, Houthis won the backing of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh — himself also a Shiite Zaydi — whose loyalists in the military are suspected of enabling the Houthis’ advances.
To defuse the crisis, the UN has been trying to broker a power-sharing deal between the Houthis and other forces but with little headway.
Rebel leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi warned his enemies not to stand in his movement’s way and denounced foreign governments for removing their diplomats.
“Whoever harms the interest of this country could see their interests in this country are also harmed,” al-Houthi said, speaking on the rebel group’s own Al-Masirah TV network.
The Houthis, traditionally based in northern Yemen along the border with Saudi Arabia, are believed to be backed by Shiite powerhouse Iran, a charge they deny.
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