President appeals for UN assistance as civil war looms

US withdraws all its personnel after suicide bombings

The United States said it had evacuated all its staff from Yemen, whose embattled president has appealed for "urgent intervention" by the UN Security Council as attacks by rebels bring his country nearer to civil war.

"Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the US government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen," US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a statement.