The British foreign office temporarily withdrew its embassy staff from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa Tuesday, citing the ongoing “volatile” situation, amid escalating concerns of a terrorist threat from al Qaeda-related groups.
A statement posted to the ministry’s website confirmed “there is a high threat of terrorism throughout Yemen”, as it urged British nationals to leave the country. An earlier official comment by foreign office officials Tuesday announced the extension of a two-day consulate closure, set to finish Monday, until the end of the Muslim festival of Eid later this week, despite a previous travel warning having specified the temporary closure was “a precautionary measure”, with consulate services reduced to reflect the scaled down staff Sunday and Monday.
Widespread global media reports Tuesday claimed a drone strike in the country claimed the lives of four al Qaeda militants, as Yemini intelligence sources further claimed dozens of al Qaeda militants have arrived in Sanaa in recent days in preparation for a large scale terrorist attack. The suspected plot was thought to involve bombing and suicide attacks in western targets in the country.
The French foreign ministry meanwhile announced the closure of its Sanaa outpost from Monday to Wednesday, in addition to the high travel alert for French nationals which has been in place since Saturday. In a statement declaring all French locations throughout the country to be in a state of “enhanced vigilance”, the warning concluded: “The security situation has led us to recommend that the French still in Yemen to leave the country and those who intend to go there to abandon their project or postpone it.”
The German mission in Yemen was closed Monday, while Norway shut its embassies in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Whilst Britain and France both upgraded their cautions regarding Yemen in line with developing US policy, the Italian foreign ministry’s advice remained vague Tuesday, with a general warning in place calling on “all Italian tourists to be careful”. “The information we’re sending out varies from one capital to another”, read a statement by Italian FM Emma Bonino. “The entire southern coast of the Mediterranean is living through an era-defining period, with regional clashes involving several countries. A call for prudence is the very least that’s required,” she added.
Meanwhile, the US State Department confirmed it had “ordered a reduction in the number of emergency US government personnel in Yemen” Tuesday. “As we have said, we are concerned about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks against U.S. persons or facilities overseas, especially emanating from the Arabian Peninsula,” continued the statement, as it advised its citizens against “nonessential travel within the country”.
A previous US update Sunday on its decision to temporarily close its embassies across 19 locations in the Arab Peninsula insisted the move was “not an indication of a new threat stream, merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect our employees”, further adding that a subsequent extension of the closure to the end of this week was “in accordance with local custom and practice for the bulk of the week for the Eid celebration at the end of Ramadan, and out of an abundance of caution”.
Furthermore, following the release of a global security alert by Interpol at the weekend cautioning of an increased risk as a result of al Qaeda-linked jail breaks of “hundreds of terrorists” across nine countries, including Libya and Pakistan, state department spokesman Hard insisted Monday that such warnings were “separate and apart, I think, from our concern about this specific threat”.
US daily The New York Times reported unsubstantiated claims the US had intercepted communications between al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and the head of the Yemini branch of the group Nasser al-Wuhayshi, in what it described as the most serious plot to be uncovered since New York’s 9/11 attacks. Citing unnamed Washington sources, the paper reported the Yemini terrorist head had received instructions to carry out a deadly attack as early as last Sunday.