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PARIS / SANAA: France urged spouses and children of its citizens working in Yemen to leave and Britain closed its embassy there to the public on Wednesday after two attacks last week against Western targets in the Yemeni capital.
Al Qaeda’s regional wing has launched a number of attacks against Westerners and Yemen's government, which declared war on the group after it claimed a failed attack on a US-bound airliner in December.
A rocket attack in the capital Sanaa targeted a vehicle carrying the deputy chief of the British mission in the impoverished Arab country and a gunman opened fire at Austrian oil and gas company OMV’s site, killing a Frenchman.
“Taking account of the deterioration in the security situation after the latest events in Yemen, we urge French expatriates to exercise greater vigilance and caution,” a French Foreign Ministry statement said.
“Spouses and children are asked to leave Yemeni territory. This is a precautionary measure taken in conjunction with the main French companies on the ground and after informing Yemeni authorities,” the statement said.
The British embassy in Sanaa said on its website it was closed to the public “because of the security situation”.
“In light of the terrorist attack on 6 October, the British Embassy in Sanaa has withdrawn some staff whilst we put additional security measures in place,” the embassy said.
In the southern province of Hadramout, gunmen riding motorcycles shot and injured a senior security officer on Wednesday, a local official said.
Al Qaeda's regional wing has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against security forces and assassinations of intelligence officers.
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited France this week to discuss the security situation in the Arab world's poorest state with President Nicolas Sarkozy after the Frenchman was killed.
France’s embassy in Yemen will continue to function normally, the French statement said. – Reuters
