Egypt Condemns Seizure of Closed US Embassy in Yemen by Rebels

On Saturday, Egypt condemned the detention of Yemeni staff of the US embassy in Sanaa and the breach of the embassy compound by the Houthi rebels and calls for their immediate release, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Egypt stresses the need to respect the rules of international law and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, calling for the safe release of detainees, and the immediate withdrawal of rebels from the US embassy," the statement added.

The Security Council stressed that the Vienna convention prohibits any intrusion into the diplomatic property as well as the “inviolability“ and “immunity“ of the premises from searches and requisition — and that property and archives of a diplomatic mission that has been temporarily closed “must be respected and protected.“

Yemen has been convulsed by civil war since 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, and much of the northern part of the country, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015, backed by the United States, to try restore President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power. Despite a relentless air campaign and ground fighting, the war has deteriorated largely into a stalemate and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.