Several western nations including Germany have closed embassies in Yemen
following a US terror alert that prompted a worldwide travel warning.
US officials met to review the threat after closing 21 diplomatic posts.
Germany joined France, Britain and the United States in closing its
embassy in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday just two days after the US
issued a global travel warning due to to a potential terror threat. The
German Foreign office said the embassy will remain closed for two days
over the security concerns. Britain called on its citizens to leave the
country on Sunday, while French President Francois Hollande urged
citizens in Yemen to exercise caution. Along with the embassy in Sanaa
the United States has closed posts in Cairo, Kabul, Tripoli, Algiers,
Amman, Djibouti, Dhaka, Doha, Khartoum, Kuwait City, Manama, Muscat and
Nouakchott. It is also moving to shut additional offices in the Saudi
cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran; in Baghdad and Erbil, Iraq; and in
the United Arab Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Canada said its
mission in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka would also be shut Sunday,
saying it would 'continue to monitor events closely and take appropriate
security measures.' Interpol meanwhile issued its own global security
alert, urging increased vigilance following a series of prison escapes
in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan. The global police agency said it 'suspected
al Qaeda involvement in several of the breakouts which led to the
escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals.' US officials meet
to review threat US National Security Advisor Susan Rice led a
high-level White House meeting on Saturday to discuss the weekend's
embassy closures and worldwide travel warning. She was joined by
Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Secretary
of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, the heads of the FBI and CIA and
other military and intelligence advisors, the White House said in a
statement. 'Early this week, the President instructed his National
Security team to take all appropriate steps to protect the American
people in light of a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the
Arabian Peninsula,' the statement said. President Barack Obama did not
attend but was briefed afterwards. The US government issued the terror
alert on Friday, warning there was a 'continued potential' for the
al-Qaeda terror network or its supporters to carry out attacks on US
citizens 'particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly
occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.' 'Current
information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue
to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they
may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the
end of August,' the travel alert said. It warned of 'the potential for
terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist
infrastructure.' The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General
Martin Dempsey said in an interview to be broadcast on America's ABC
network on Sunday, that the threat uncovered by intelligence agencies
was 'more specific' than previous ones and the 'intent is to attack
Western, not just US interests.' It was the first such warning issued by
the State Department since the 10th anniversary of the September 11,
2001 attacks. It also comes less than a year after an attack on a US
diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya that killed an ambassador and three
other Americans. ccp/hc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
No comments:
Post a Comment