Yemen rebels seize U.S. Embassy vehicles as diplomats flee Kim Hjelmgaard and Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY February 11, 2015
Yemen rebels seized U.S. Embassy vehicles in the capital of Sanaa on Wednesday as diplomats fled the country and several foreign embassies closed amid deteriorating security conditions.
More than 25 vehicles were taken by Houthi rebels after Americans departed the city's airport, airport officials told the Associated Press.
The Marine Corps said security personnel destroyed their personal weapons before boarding a commercial flight out of Yemen.
They destroyed heavier weapons, such as machine guns, before departing the shuttered U.S. Embassy in an "orderly" evacuation, said Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. He said "several" vehicles were left behind.
A small number of military personnel not assigned to the embassy remain behind, he said. Staffers at the U.S. Embassy also destroyed files and documents, the Associated Press reported.
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In addition to the United States, Britain and France announced the closure of their embassies in Yemen after the country was taken over by the Shiite militants late last week. The embassy closures were a signal that world powers see little chance the rebels' advances will roll back soon.
Yemen Falls Apart: Marines Forced to Destroy Weapons, U.S. Embassy Evacuated, Al Qaeda Seizes Military Base Katie Pavlich | Feb 12, 2015
ZitatDespite President Obama claiming in September that U.S. strategy used to combat terrorism in Yemen has been a "success," so successful in fact that it should be used to defeat ISIS, the country continues to fall apart. Late yesterday the United States evacuated the U.S. embassy in Yemen and Marines were bizarrely ordered by the State Department to destroy issued weapons on their way out. The British and French also closed and evacuated their embassies yesterday citing safety and security concerns.