UNSC condemns seizure of UAE embassy in Yemen

The UAE had also condemned the "occupation" of its embassy in Sanaa by the Houthi rebels, the foreign ministry said in a statement demanding their immediate exit from the compound.

Members of the UN Security Council have condemned in the strongest terms the storming and seizure of the United Arab Emirates embassy in Sana'a, Yemen, by Houthis on August 17.
In a statement issued yesterday evening, the Security Council demanded an immediate withdrawal of all Houthi elements from the premises and condemned all acts of violence against diplomatic premises.
The Security Council reiterated the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, and the obligations on host Governments, including those of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage, and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of these missions or impairment of their dignity, and to prevent any attack on diplomatic agents and consular officers.
UAE shuts embassy
The UAE had also condemned the "occupation" of its embassy in Sanaa by the Houthi rebels, the foreign ministry said in a statement demanding their immediate exit from the compound.
The embassy takeover comes as Yemeni loyalists backed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia continue advances against rebels in several southern provinces as well as in third city Taez, seen as a gateway to the rebel-held capital.
"This act is further evidence that the group that committed this attack does not show any regard or respect for international conventions and diplomatic norms, as it practises the law of the jungle," said a statement published late Monday by the official WAM news agency.
It "condemned in the strongest possible terms" the rebel storming of the embassy, which it said took place on Sunday.
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The foreign ministry "stressed that the occupation of the embassy and the eviction of its staff will not deter the UAE's support for the restoration of stability to sisterly Yemen."
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the UAE is a member, also released a statement condemning the "cowardly act."
The Houthi rebels, allied with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized the Yemeni capital in September last year.
They consolidated their grip on power in February, prompting an exodus of foreign diplomats from the capital.
The UAE shut its embassy in Sanaa and announced it would open another in southern city Aden, which was later the scene of intense fighting between local government supporters and the rebels before loyalists retook the city in mid-July.
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It is unclear how many employees were at the Sanaa embassy and if it had been operational when it was stormed.
Saudi-owned newspaper Al-Hayat has reported that 1,500 troops, most of them from the UAE, had entered Aden in support of loyalists.
The UAE is also part of a Saudi-led coalition that launched an air war against the rebels on March 26.
Earlier this week, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and countries including Kuwait, Egypt and Tunisia had also condemned the attack on the embassy.

• MENA