WASHINGTON, January 24 (Sputnik) — The United States military maintains assets at sea and contingency plans prepared given the collapse of the government of Yemen in the past 48 hours, US Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told the press on Friday.
“We have now for several days had resources, naval resources in particular there and ready to respond,” Kirby said when asked if there were changes in the US military presence around Yemen. “There’s constant contingency planning going on in a dynamic situation like this.”
“We are monitoring it as closely as we can, but it’s not clear right now in whose hands the government is or will be in the future,” Kirby stated, adding that the recent days’ events have not prompted the Pentagon to alter its military footprint in Yemen.
Until the political conditions are clarified, the US military is maintaining a “wait and see posture” regarding future counter-terrorism cooperation with the Yemeni government or future military training, Kirby said. The Pentagon needs an accurate assessment of the government on the ground before they make “any new decisions or move forward in any significant way on counter-terrorism in Yemen,” the Pentagon spokesman added.
Following the government’s leadership transition in 2012, the US has been providing security assistance to Yemen, including a counter-terrorism partnership to target assets of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, according to the State Department.
This week Shia Houthi rebels seized control of the Yemeni presidential palace in Sanaa, leading to President Hadi’s resignation from office. The US State Department officially ordered the withdrawal of a number of US diplomatic personnel from the embassy in Sanaa amid the country’s deepening chaos.
