Asia

Home page

Asia

Houthis order US, British nationals to leave Yemen

24 January 2024 18:42 (UTC +04:00)

Yemen's Houthi authorities have ordered U.S. and British staff of the United Nations and Sanaa-based humanitarian organisations to leave the country within a month, a document and a Houthi official said on Wednesday, APA reports citing Reuters.

The decision follows strikes by the United States and Britain, with support from other nations, against military targets of the Iran-aligned group, which has been launching attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea that is says are linked to Israel.

The U.S. government last week also returned the Houthis to a list of terrorist groups as Washington tries to stem attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have said their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians.

"The ministry ... would like to stress that you must inform officials and workers with U.S. and British citizenships to prepare to leave the country within 30 days," said a letter sent by the Houthi foreign ministry to the U.N.'s acting humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Peter Hawkins.

The letter also ordered foreign organisations to not hire American and British citizens for Yemen's operations.

The U.S. embassy said in a statement it was aware of reports about the letter but "cannot speak on behalf of the U.N. or humanitarian organizations in Yemen as to what they may have received from Houthi 'authorities'".

The British embassy said staff had not yet been told to leave and the mission was in close contact with the U.N. on the issue.

U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines have launched dozens of air strikes across Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks as container vessels have been forced to divert from the Red Sea, the fastest freight route from Asia to Europe.

U.S. and British forces on Tuesday targeted a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and surveillance capabilities, the Pentagon said.