Thursday, May 8, 2014

U.S. Suspends Embassy Operations in Yemen After Attacks

05/08/2014

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government announced Wednesday the temporary suspension in providing services to the public at its embassy in Yemen citing recent attacks against “western interests.”

“The recent attacks against western interests and information we have received have given us enough concern to take this precautionary step,” said State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.

A security advisor with the European Union was killed and another wounded on Monday in Sanaa in an attack on their car by unknown gunmen, but Yemeni authorities attribute the hit to Al Qaeda. Both Frenchmen worked for a private security firm operating in the country.

Germans also have been attacked recently in Yemen.

“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 in the statement.

Psaki went on to reiterate the “strong commitment” of the United States to supporting Yemen to achieve “significant reforms” in its transition process to improve security for its citizens.

A little more than a week ago, the Yemeni army launched a broad offensive against the Al Qaeda strongholds of Shebua and Abien, the largest such military move since 2012 and one in which dozens of alleged terrorists have been killed.


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