U.S. urges release of Yemeni president amid continued unrest

The United States on Wednesday called for immediate release of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his cabinet ministers currently under house arrest by the Shiite Houthi group who now controls Sanaa.

"An inclusive political process cannot resume with members of the country's leadership under house arrest," a U.S. State Department statement said. "The future of Yemen should be determined by the Yemeni people. All Yemenis have both a right and responsibility to participate in this process peacefully."

The State Department confirmed late Tuesday that it has suspended its embassy operation and evacuated its embassy staff out of Sanaa due to the "uncertain security situation" there.

Yet U.S. officials said that the embassy closure would not affect U.S. counter-terrorism operations there.

Yemen's security situation deteriorated since January, when the Shiite Houthi group seized the presidential palace in Sanaa following deadly clashes with presidential guards.

On Feb. 6, the Houthi group announced a unilateral move to dissolve the parliament and form a presidential council to take over power after the country's president and premier resigned last month, which was rejected by Yemen's political parties and denounced by the Gulf Arab states.

The Shiite Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah and based in the far northern province of Saada, has been expanding its influence southward after signing a UN-sponsored peace and power-sharing deal on Sept. 21, 2014, following week-long deadly clashes.

The country's political parties and Houthi group resumed talks on Monday under the mediation of UN envoy Jamal Benomar, aiming to find a solution to peacefully end the current crisis.

Yemen is a predominant power base for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which claimed responsibility for last month's deadly attacks on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Endi