US, France, Britain to withdraw diplomatic staff from Yemen

The embassies of the United States, France and Britain announced Wednesday that they will withdraw their diplomatic staff from Yemen due to the security situation.

The U.S. embassy quoted a statement of the State Department posted on its website on Wednesday, saying that the U.S. government decides to suspend embassy operations in Sanaa and "will explore options for a return to Sanaa when the situation on the ground improves."

A diplomatic source at the U.S. embassy said anonymously that the embassy will withdraw most of its staff and the ambassador will continue to work in another country in the region.

On the same day, the British embassy released a statement that cited British Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood as saying the diplomatic personnel were withdrawn from the British Embassy in Sanaa on security grounds.

"The security situation in Yemen has continued to deteriorate over recent days. Regrettably we now judge that our Embassy staff and premises are at increased risk," he said.

"We have therefore decided to withdraw diplomatic staff and temporarily suspend the operations of the British Embassy in Sanaa," the minister said, adding that the ambassador and diplomatic staff left Yemen Wednesday morning and will return to Britain.

Meanwhile, the French embassy in Sanaa said in a statement that "the embassy will be closed from Feb. 13 until further notice."

The three countries also urged the immediate departure of their citizens from Yemen.

Security situation deteriorated in Yemen since January when the Shiite Houthi group seized the presidential palace in Sanaa after deadly clashes with presidential guards.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah submitted resignations on Jan. 22.

On Feb. 6, the Houthi group announced a unilateral move to dissolve the parliament and form a presidential council to take over power after the country's president and premier resigned last month, which was rejected by Yemen's political parties and denounced by the Gulf Arab states.

The Shiite Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah and based in the far northern province of Saada, has been expanding its influence southward after signing a UN-sponsored peace and power-sharing deal on Sept. 21, 2014 following week-long deadly clashes.

The country's political parties and Houthi group resumed talks on Monday under the mediation of UN envoy Jamal Benomar, aiming to find a solution to peacefully end the current crisis.

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