WASHINGTON/LONDON/PARIS, Feb 11 : The United States, Britain and France said on Wednesday they were closing their embassies in Yemen following Shia rebels seizing power there, highlighting the turmoil gripping the country as it marked the fourth anniversary of toppling its longtime autocratic ruler.
The embassy closures came as Houthi rebels, armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and dressed in police uniforms and civilian clothes, patrolled the main boulevards of the capital, Sanaa, some in pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.
Early Wednesday morning, U.K. Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood urged British citizens still in Yemen to "leave immediately" as the British Embassy evacuated its staff. This came as the U.S. State Department confirmed it closed the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and evacuated its staff. The French Embassy said it would close on Friday.    ?AP