US closes embassy in Yemen to public until further notice

Recent resignation of Yemeni president, prime minister and cabinet, and the ongoing security concerns cited as reasons

The United States is closing its embassy in Yemen to the public until further notice, the embassy said in a statement on Monday amid political turmoil after that nation's government resigned last week under pressure from the Houthi rebel movement.

"The US Embassy will be closed to the public until further notice out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting the Embassy. We are continuously analyzing the security conditions and will resume consular operations as soon as our analysis indicates we are able to do so safely," the statement said.

The statement was issued only hours after a drone strike reportedly killed three al Qaeda suspects in an eastern desert area of Yemen.

"Due to the recent resignation of the Yemeni president, prime minister, and cabinet, and the ongoing security concerns, the US embassy in Sanaa is unable to provide routine consular services and will have very limited ability to assist with emergency cases involving US citizens," the embassy said on its website.