US Warns Against Travel To Yemen
The State Department on Sunday advised Americans not to travel to Yemen and said U.S. citizens currently in the country should consider leaving.
The travel warning also said the department has authorized family members of U.S. Embassy staff and non-essential personnel to leave the country.
The advisory cited terrorism and civil unrest in the impoverished Arab nation and said that in the event of a crisis evacuation options would be severely limited due to "the lack of infrastructure, geographic constraints, and other security concerns."
The State Department said the threat level in Yemen, where demonstrators are calling on the country's besieged president to leave office, is "extremely high."
"Piracy in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean is also a security threat to maritime activities in the region. Terrorist organizations continue to be active in Yemen, including Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," the travel warning said.
The State Department said the U.S. government remained concerned about possible attacks against American citizens, facilities, businesses, and perceived U.S. and Western interests.
Suspected al-Qaida fighters ambushed and killed four Yemeni soldiers on Sunday who were distributing food to other troops manning checkpoints in a remote, mountainous region of the country.
EnlargeAssociated Press
Two elderly anti-government protestors dance during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 6, 2011. Suspected al-Qaida gunmen killed four Republican Guard soldiers on Sunday in the mountainous central province of Marib, security officials said. Also Sunday, the U.S. government, citing terrorism and civil unrest, advised Americans not to travel to Yemen and said Americans already in the impoverished Arab nation should leave. A travel warning issued by the State Department also authorized family members of U.S. Embassy staff and non-essential personnel to leave.
Associated Press
A Yemeni boy reacts as an anti-government protestor puts a chick with a sticker that reads in Arabic, " Leave", on his head, during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Tens of thousands are continuing with protests in several key cities across Yemen, pressing on with demands that the country's president step down. The government has suspended classes at the universities in the capital Sanaa and the southern port city of Aden, which have been the focal points for daily demonstrations inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
EnlargeAssociated Press
Female supporters of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh raise his portrait and wave their national flag during a rally to support Saleh, in Amran, Yemen, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Tens of thousands are continuing with protests in several key cities across Yemen, pressing on with demands that the country's president step down. The government has suspended classes at the universities in the capital Sanaa and the southern port city of Aden, which have been the focal points for daily demonstrations _ inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia _ against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
EnlargeAssociated Press
An anti-government protestor, center, reacts during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 6, 2011. Suspected al-Qaida gunmen killed four Republican Guard soldiers on Sunday in the mountainous central province of Marib, security officials said. Also Sunday, the U.S. government, citing terrorism and civil unrest, advised Americans not to travel to Yemen and said Americans already in the impoverished Arab nation should leave. A travel warning issued by the State Department also authorized family members of U.S. Embassy staff and non-essential personnel to leave.
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