美撤回部分驻也门外交官敦促美国公民撤离_BEC初级作文

美撤回部分驻也门外交官敦促美国公民撤离

"The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately," the statement posted on its website said.

"On August 6, 2013, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks," it added.

Previous U.S travel warnings to Yemen had also advised citizens not travel to the country, but the language of the latest announcement appeared to reflect a more imminent threat.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said U.S. relations with Yemen remained strong despite the measures taken.

"So this was, again, just to reiterate, a response to an immediate specific threat, but we continue to work with them on a number of issues," Psaki told journalists at a news briefing in Washington.

Britain also said on Tuesday it had withdrawn all staff from its embassy in the capital Sanaa, adding there was "a very high threat of kidnap from armed tribes, criminals and terrorists".

The Netherlands advised its citizens to leave Yemen as a matter of urgency, local news agency ANP reported.

France said it had not changed its previous advisory asking citizens to "be very cautious and to move around as little as possible," Helene Conway-Mouret, junior Minister for French nationals abroad, told BFM TV.

EVACUATION

Restoring stability to Yemen - a country close to major shipping lanes and torn by regional and sectarian separatism and tribal violence as well as the al Qaeda insurgency - has been a priority for the United States.