Yemen 'collapsing before our eyes'

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the Security Council for action to halt Yemen's slide toward anarchy, warning the country was "collapsing before our eyes", as more countries evacuated their staff from the crisis-hit country.

Saudi Arabia, Germany and Italy became the latest countries to withdraw embassy staff from Yemen yesterday as an exodus of foreign diplomats gathered pace due to growing insecurity.

Long on the front line of the war against al-Qaeda, Yemen has descended into chaos since Shiite militiamen, known as Huthis, seized Sanaa in September and ousted the government last week.

Riyadh, Berlin and Rome said they had temporarily closed their missions in the capital Sanaa.

"Due to the deteriorating security and political situation in the Yemeni capital, Saudi Arabia has suspended all embassy operations in Sanaa and evacuated all its staff," said the Saudi foreign ministry.

The United States, Britain and France have rushed to close their embassies over security fears, with US staff destroying top-secret documents and sensitive equipment before pulling out Wednesday.

The Netherlands followed suit the next day.

The Huthis said Western powers had no reason to shut their embassies, insisting security was solid in the capital.

The latest embassy closures came a day after remarks by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who warned Yemen was falling apart.

"Let me be clear: Yemen is collapsing before our eyes. We cannot stand by and watch," Ban told the UN Security Council in New York.

The instability has been seized upon by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is expanding its foothold across the country.

AQAP fighters overran an army camp in southern Shabwa province on Thursday, that left 12 troops and 15 militants dead, military officials said revising an earlier toll of seven killed.

The militants also seized a large quantity of armour and heavy weaponry, including dozens of tanks and army vehicles as well as artillery pieces, an military official said.

They later handed back control of the camp following tribal mediation but kept the weapons, local government officials said.

Yesterday, suspected AQAP militants also shot dead an air force pilot in the southern Lahij province, a local government official told AFP.