Yemen Orders Departure of US, British UN Staff following Military Strikes
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemeni officials instructed US and British nationals working for the United Nations and humanitarian organizations in the capital Sana'a to leave the country within a month.
The order, delivered in a letter to Peter Hawkins, the UN's acting humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, came after the US and UK conducted military strikes across Yemen in response to attacks on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea by Yemeni armed forces.
"The ministry ... would like to stress that you must inform officials and workers with US and British citizenships to prepare to leave the country within 30 days," stated the letter from Yemen's Foreign Ministry. It also directed foreign organizations not to hire American and British citizens for Yemen's operations.
Ansarullah spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam confirmed the authenticity of the letter. The US embassy, aware of the reports, stated it couldn't speak on behalf of the UN or humanitarian organizations in Yemen. The British embassy mentioned its staff had not yet been told to leave and was in close contact with the UN on the issue.
Joint strikes by US and British forces, supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, occurred at eight locations in Yemen on Monday.
Despite eight rounds of strikes over the past month, Yemeni armed forces have persisted in targeting shipping associated with the Israeli regime. The conflict was initiated when Israel waged war on Gaza on October 7, following the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas's Al-Aqsa Storm operation against the occupying regime in response to Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.
Since the aggression began, Israel has reported killing over 25,700 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, imposing a "complete siege" on Gaza, and restricting fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians residing there.
