U.S. reopens embassy in Yemen after 2-week closure

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U.S. reopens embassy in Yemen after 2-week closure

(Xinhua) 15:55, August 21, 2013

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SANAA, Aug. 21 -- The United States has reopened its embassy in Yemen after about two weeks of closure due to terrorism threats, a Yemeni government spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The U.S. embassy in Sanaa reopened its door on Sunday... and started to conduct consular transactions yesterday (Tuesday)," said Mohammed Albasha in a statement received by Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday in a statement on its website that its embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa was reopened on Sunday.

On Aug. 4, the U.S. State Department ordered the closure of 22 diplomatic missions across the Middle East and North African due to potential terrorist threat based on intercepted communications that purported to be between al-Qaida leader Ayman Zawahri and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, head of the Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

It reopened 18 of the 19 embassies and consulates on Aug. 9, but the U.S. embassy in Sanaa remained closed due to concerns about a threat stream indicating potential terrorist attacks by the AQAP.

Britain and Germany officially announced on Sunday the reopening of their embassies in Sanaa after 12 days of closure due to security threats.

The Yemeni government has boosted security presence around Western embassies in the capital as precautionary measures since the United States and Britain temporarily evacuated their diplomatic staff from Sanaa.

（Editor：LiangJun、Yao Chun）