UK diplomats urged to leave Yemen as violence escalates
Foreign Secretary William Hague pulls embassy staff out of Yemen and calls again for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to stand down amid escalating bloodshed.
The Government said on Thursday nonessential diplomatic staff were ordered to depart Yemen temporarily as the situation in the country deteriorates.
“I have today decided to reduce the staffing of our Embassy to a level sufficient only to work on the most pressing and vital British national interests in Yemen, by temporarily removing four members of our staff,” Foreign Secretary William Hague said while reiterating calls for a peaceful transition to a new government.
His comments followed news that the United States had also pulled staff out of the country.
The US State Department said: “The security level in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activities and civil unrest. There is ongoing civil unrest throughout the country and large-scale protests in major cities.”
At a news conference in Paris ahead of the G8 summit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added: “We continue to support the departure of President Saleh, who has consistently agreed that he would be stepping down from power and then consistently reneged on those agreements.”
Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in overnight gun battles in the capital Sana’a, as fighting aimed at ending Saleh’s 33 year rule continued. Residents have been leaving the city in their hundreds to escape the fighting. The clashes forced the closure of the city’s airport but government sources said later it had re-opened.
The defence ministry also said that 28 people died following the explosion at a weapons storage facility in the capital. Opposition activists are disputing the account and say the deaths resulted from the government’s heavy shelling in residential area.
The most recent round of fighting began a day after Saleh pulled out, for the third time, of a deal mediated by Gulf Arab neighbours, that would have seen him step down and make way for a national unity government.
Forces loyal to President Saleh attacked the compound of tribal leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar. Over 50 people were reported to be killed in the fighting, including women and children.
‘He will leave this country barefoot’
Ahmar, who is head of the Hashed tribal federation said there would be no deal with the President: “No mediation works with Ali Abdullah Saleh” he said “Ali Abdullah Saleh is a liar, liar, liar. He will leave this country barefoot.” Ahmar called on Arab states to keep up pressure on President Saleh to step down. The President issued a warrant for al-Ahmar’s arrest on Thursday.
The anti-government protests began in February, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. Demonstrators began camping in squares in marching in their hundreds of thousands to call for Saleh to go. Repression of the protests by the army and government troops led to hundreds of deaths.