US warns citizens on Yemen as protests swell

SANAA: U.S. warned citizens in Yemen on Sunday to consider departing as protests seeking the overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to gain momentum, saying the security risk in a poor condition was extremely high.

Tens of thousands of protesters camped out in many major cities of Yemen, their tone hardening of daily protests and appealed to the clashes in the city of Ibb on Sunday when government supporters attacked the protesters with sticks and stones.

"The Department (State) urges American citizens not to travel to Yemen. American citizens currently in Yemen should consider departing," U.S. State Department said in a travel warning.

"The level of security threat in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activity and civil unrest."

Growing Yemeni protests, as well as a number of desertions from the allies Saleh, have added pressure on Saleh to end his three-decade rule. Neither party appears willing to compromise.

The protesters want Saleh to retire by the end of this year, if not sooner, and the president follows the earlier promise to step down only when his current term expires in 2013.

Yemen, a neighbor of Saudi Arabia, was on the verge of failed state even before the recent protests, with Saleh trying to cement a truce with Shiite rebels in the north and crush the separatist rebellion in the south.

Analysts say the recent protests, inspired by the unrest that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and has caused an uprising in Libya, may point to the point where it will be difficult for Saleh, a shrewd politician to remain in power.

"The country is on the verge of exploding," said Dubai security analyst Theodore Karasik. "It's a popular uprising to hit a crescendo, and you could flare even more violence. We could look at the situation in Libya, resulting in Yemen."