US Pulls Staff out of Yemen over Qaeda Alert

The United States and its allies withdrew diplomats from Yemen on Tuesday and stepped up security at missions across the Middle East amid fears of an imminent Al-Qaeda attack.
US embassy in Yemen
Washington has closed 19 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa, citing intercepted communications among militants, reportedly including an attack order from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

While the closures span cities across the Arab world, the focus of concern has been Yemen, where American forces are focalized.

US President Barack Obama, appearing on a late-night comedy show Tuesday, said his administration was taking “every precaution” but that Americans should not panic. “If people are paying attention, checking with the State Department or embassy, going on the website before you travel, find out what kind of precautions you should be taking, then I think it still makes sense for people to take vacations,” he said. “They just have to make sure that they’re doing so in a prudent way.”

Yemen: Pullout Serves Extremists Interest

The Yemeni government, however, issued a strong response to the diplomatic withdrawal, saying it recognized the safety fears but that the pullout “serves the interests of the extremists.”

Such a step “undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism,” the foreign ministry in Sanaa said. Local authorities had “taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of foreign missions,” it stressed.

Some 75 non-essential staffers at the US embassy in Sanaa exited on a military plane, an American official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The plane, accompanied by a support aircraft, flew to the US air base in Ramstein, Germany, the official said.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the 19 offices are closed to the public, but they continue to provide emergency US citizen services. “They are instructed to close for normal operations through Saturday, August 10,” she added, noting that some staff would remain. “This decision and the announcement this morning was based on a response to an immediate specific threat.”

The State Department warned US citizens not to travel to Yemen and strongly urged any already there to leave “immediately.” The Pentagon said it still had personnel on the ground “to support the US State Department and monitor the security situation.”