http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/world/middleeast/sana-yemen-embassies.html
Isolation Grows for Houthis in Yemen as Western Embassies Close
By ROD NORDLAND FEB. 11, 2015
SANA, Yemen — The Houthi militiamen who effectively rule Yemen were increasingly isolated on Wednesday as several Western countries joined the United States in closing their embassies here, despite few signs of deteriorating security in the streets.
Some international organizations appeared to be reducing their staff as well, and the World Bank, which provides more than $1.1 billion in support to Yemen, had only a guard force on duty on Wednesday at its offices.
Many saw the move as intended to pressure Yemen’s power brokers to come to an agreement. Although the embassies cited security concerns as the reason behind the closings, they came amid relative calm in Sana, the capital, even on the anniversary of its Arab Spring revolution, with peaceful pro- and anti-Houthi demonstrations.
The British and American Embassies in Sana were both closed on Wednesday. The Americans evacuated the last of their staff members on Tuesday, and the British had withdrawn all their diplomats. The German Embassy was also closed, a security official said, although its diplomats had not yet left. France urged all its citizens in Yemen to leave and said the embassy would close on Friday.
The country’s government collapsed on Jan. 22, leaving international donors with no one to officially accept funds. Saudi Arabia, the biggest unilateral donor, said it was cutting off its more than $4 billion in aid after the Houthi takeover of Sana last year.
Yemen has been an important ally in the fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and there have been no reports of the withdrawal of American military forces who help carry out drone strikes against the extremists. Despite the Houthis’ public opposition to the drone strikes, they have made no move to stop them, and they are strongly against Al Qaeda.
It was not clear why the Western countries closed their embassies now, because they have been left open during much more violent times in the capital.
“As soon as the Americans do something like this, all the other Western embassies follow them,” said a Foreign Ministry official here, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. “The closure does not necessarily mean the security situation is bad, but it could mean the foreign missions want to exercise or put more pressure on the Houthis.”
A senior member of the Houthi political bureau, speaking on the condition of anonymity as a matter of policy, expressed regret about the American move. “We didn’t want them to go, and we were ready to work with the American Embassy on measures that would ensure their protection and facilitate their work.” He said the Houthis would keep the embassy compound safe until American diplomats returned.
The State Department urged all Americans living in Yemen to leave, although there has been no sign of an exodus. At the Yemen America Language Institute, the executive director, Aziz Alhadi, a Yemeni-American from Pittsburgh, said none of the school’s four American teachers were planning to leave.
“I think everyone is worried a little bit, but we’ve been through so much already,” he said. “In Sana, the streets are safer than they were.”
Houthi militiamen who have taken over the Yemen military are omnipresent throughout the city, which has been relatively quiet the past two weeks. “Anything could happen,” he said. “It’s the uncertainty of not knowing what could happen that is hard.”
Yemen has been without a government since President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigned late last month, citing pressure from Houthi militants who have taken control of the capital but have not yet installed a government of their own.
On Wednesday evening, Jamal Benomar, the special representative of the United Nations for Yemen, convened a third day of talks between the Houthis and other political parties to try to form a government.
Mohammad A. Abulahoum, the head of Justice and Building, one of the parties negotiating with the Houthis, said: “This is the time we most needed the international community here. But maybe this will be a wake-up call to certain groups in Yemen.”
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia and other countries denounced the Houthis’ plans to form a government as tantamount to a coup. On Tuesday, however, the Houthis’ top leader in Sana, Saleh Ali al-Sammad, said in an interview that they were willing to negotiate and wanted to share power, not to dominate the country.
Speaking hours before word of the American Embassy closing, Mr. Sammad said the Houthis wanted to establish friendly relations with the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Some United Nations and international activities in Sana appeared to have been curtailed as well. Guards outside the offices of the United Nations Development Program, which has a large presence in Yemen, said the agency was closed for business.
At the World Bank, no expatriate officials were present, although a security official said that they were just on a routine leave and that the bank was still functioning with Yemeni staff members. No one was answering the telephone during business hours on Wednesday.
Efforts to reach the World Bank for comment were not immediately successful.
Other United Nations agencies, like Unicef and the World Food Program, were operating normally. Yemen is one of the world’s poorest countries, with more than 40 percent of its population considered food insecure, or lacking reliable access to a sufficient quantity of food, and more than half of its children are stunted because of malnourishment.
The United States was also a major donor to Yemen, with more than $500 million in direct aid to the country annually. Those contributions will presumably be delayed as long as the embassy is closed, along with the United States Agency for International Development.
With Yemen’s oil sector reeling from production disruptions and falling prices, the country faces a severe economic crisis. The government is the largest employer in the country, and it is unclear whether state employees will be paid in February.
Government employees were paid for January, but many reportedly received their checks late.
Shuaib Almosawa contributed reporting.
Received on Wed Feb 11 2015 - 14:26:46 EST