US closes Yemen embassy after attacks against Western interests

The United States has temporarily suspended operations at its embassy in Sana’a to the public in view of a spate of attacks against Western interests in Yemen. “Due to recent attacks against Western interests in Yemen, we have temporarily suspended operations of our Embassy in Sana’a to the public. [caption id=“attachment_1513761” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The consulate has been shut down after a spate of attacks: AP[/caption] We continue to evaluate the security situation every day, and we will reopen the embassy to the public once it is deemed appropriate,” the State Department Spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said. “The recent attacks against western interests and information we have received have given us enough concern to take this precautionary step,” she said, adding that the US remains firmly committed to supporting Yemen as it works to achieve meaningful reform through its ongoing transition process and to enhance security for the Yemeni people. The move comes after a French national was killed on Monday and another was wounded when gunmen opened fire on their car in Sanaa’s diplomatic district. In October, a security guard at the German embassy was killed while resisting a kidnapping attempt. Two Britons and a German were kidnapped in January and February respectively. “We continue to evaluate the security situation every day, and we will reopen the embassy to the public once it is deemed appropriate,” Psaki said. “The United States remains firmly committed to supporting Yemen as it works to achieve meaningful reform through its ongoing transition process and to enhance security for the Yemeni people,” Psaki said. PTI