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TERRORISM

Germany to close Yemen embassies

Germany announced Friday it had temporarily closed its embassy in Yemen and were pulling staff out because of ongoing violence in the troubled country.

Published: 13 February 2015 14:14 CET
Germany to close Yemen embassies
Photo: DPA

The Italian embassy announced it was doing the same. 

The moves follow similar decisions earlier this week by Britain, France and the United States regarding their embassies in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. 

"The situation is anything but stable," said a German foreign ministry spokeswoman, calling the ouster of the government by Shiite militiamen known as Huthis "unacceptable, dangerous and with consequences for the region".

"We decided yesterday to temporarily close the embassy in Sanaa and the personnel departed the country early this morning," she said.

On Wednesday, officials from the Foreign Ministry encouraged any German nationals residing in Yemen to leave. 

The Italian foreign ministry said in a statement that "we hope mediation efforts led by the UN envoy Jamal Benomar will create security conditions allowing a return of diplomatic personnel to Yemen as soon as possible".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that Yemen was "collapsing before our eyes" towards civil war.

TERRORISM

Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

Police in Milan said on Thursday they had arrested a 37-year-old Algerian man in the subway, later discovering he was wanted for alleged ties to Islamic State.

Published: 9 November 2023 15:18 CET
Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

When stopped by police officers for a routine check, the man became “particularly aggressive”, said police in Milan, who added the arrest took place “in recent days”.

He was “repeatedly shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while attempting to grab from his backpack an object that turned out to be a knife with a blade more than 12cm (nearly five inches) long,” they said in a statement.

The man was later found to be wanted by authorities in Algeria, suspected since 2015 of belonging to “Islamic State militias and employed in the Syrian-Iraqi theatre of war,” police said.

Police said the suspect was unknown to Italian authorities.

The man is currently in Milan’s San Vittore prison and awaiting extradition, they added.

Jihadist group IS proclaimed a “caliphate” in 2014 across swathes of Syria and Iraq, launching a reign of terror that continues with hit-and-run attacks and ambushes.

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