Sanaa - The United States, Britain and France moved to close their embassies in Yemen on Wednesday, increasing the isolation of Houthi rebels who have seized power. In a show of bravado against the Americans, the rebels seized the cars of US diplomats left at the airport on the way out.| The question, and death is not an option: is Yemen the new Libya or is Libya the new Yemen? Discuss... |
The increasing turmoil comes almost four years to the day since the start of Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ousted the longtime autocratic ruler but then opened a political transition that crumbled between the country’s grinding forces of tribal politics, sectarian divisions, Al Qaeda militancy and succession movements.
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The embassy closures were a signal that world powers see little chance the rebels’ advances will roll back soon.
More than 25 vehicles abandoned by departing American embassy staffers at Sanaa airport were seized by the rebels, according to airport officials. The rebels also took weapons that were left in the vehicles, the officials said.
The embassy’s Marine detachment, which escorted the cars, left their personal sidearms behind since they would be unable to take them on the commercial flights they were leaving on, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters in Washington. They destroyed their heavier weapons — automatic weapons and machine guns — before leaving the embassy, he said.
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US officials said the embassy’s closure would not affect counterterrorism operations against Al Qaeda’s Yemen branch. Yemeni officials, however, say the move was likely to curtail US military operations in the country. Washington has long considered the Yemeni branch to be the world’s most dangerous offshoot of the global terror group.