Turkey to evacuate its embassy in Yemen

Turkey has decided to shut down its embassy in Yemen and evacuate its staff because of the worsening situation in the capital Sanaa due to intensified clashes between Shiite militia and Sunni opposition groups.

The Turkish embassy in Sanaa planned to suspend its operations on late Feb. 15 after securing the safe return of Turkish citizens in Yemen. Ambassador Fazl? Çorman and other diplomats were expected to return to Turkey late yesterday after the completion of necessary procedures.

Many Western countries, including the United States, France and Britain, as well as Saudi Arabia, closed their diplomatic missions in the capital because of the worsening situation last week.

The Turkish foreign minister issued Feb. 14 a new travel warning to Yemen for Turkish citizens and called on them to immediately leave the country. Hundreds of Turkish citizens have already left Yemen on scheduled flights by Turkish Airlines.

The United States, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the Netherlands have also closed their embassies and withdrawn staff because of security fears, the Agence France-Presse reported.
Spain said it was temporarily suspending embassy activity in Yemen "in light of the current situation of insecurity and instability in Sanaa."

The embassy had advised all Spanish citizens to "temporarily" leave Yemen, the Foreign Ministry said.
The Shiite group that has taken control of the capital, the Houthis, said Western powers had no reason to shut their embassies, insisting that security was solid in the capital.

Tehran also criticized the "hasty action" of closing the embassies, insisting the Houthis were fighting "corruption and terrorism."