SANAA: Yemen’s Interior Ministry yesterday denied reports claiming that clashes broke out outside the US Embassy in Sanaa, and explained that police fired warning shots to stop a car that passed a security barrier on a street leading to the embassy’s compound.
“A speeding Mercedes carrying three persons passed a checkpoint at a crossroad midnight Monday and policemen fired two warning shots to force the car to stop,” the ministry said in a statement. The three men in the car were detained and being interrogated, the statement, posted on the ministry’s website, said.
The ministry’s clarification followed conflicting accounts by security sources claiming that the three men in the car opened fire at the barricade prompting the police to respond.
“There was no shooting from the car, neither on the checkpoint nor on the US Embassy building,” the statement said. “The embassy’s building is located far from the place of the incident,” it added. The ministry further said investigations showed that the men in the car were not armed, and that no weapons were found in the car.
“It was a mere incident and no terrorist or criminal motives were involved,” the ministry said.
The incident took place hours after the embassy said it had received a threat of a “possible attack” against its compound and asked US citizens in Yemen to exercise caution.
“The US Embassy has received a threat against the embassy compound regarding a possible attack which could take place in the foreseeable future,” the embassy said on its website.
“US citizens in Yemen are advised to exercise caution and take prudent security measures in all areas frequented by Westerners,” the message said. It asked Americans to maintain a “high level of vigilance,” avoid crowds and keep a low profile.
Following the embassy’s warning, police closed a street near the embassy in eastern Sanaa and dozens of police personnel were deployed around the compound.
The reported threat came three days after the leader of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, Nasser Al-Waheishi alias Abu Bassir, threatened to carry out attacks against US and Western interests in the Arabian Peninsula.
