Yemenis Storm U.S. Embassy

Hundreds of Yemenis stormed the U.S. Embassy facility in Sana’a on Thursday, replacing the U.S. flag with an Islamic banner and destroying cars and other property.

Before entering the compound grounds, the demonstrators tore down the embassy’s exterior sign, set tires on fire, and showered the facility with rocks. Then the protesters breached the ordinarily tight security around the embassy grounds and reached the compound, but did not enter the main building. Once inside the complex, they took down the U.S. flag, burned it and replaced it with a black Islamic banner saying, “There is no God but Allah.”

Yemeni security forces rushed to the scene, fired shots in the air and used water cannons and tear gas to disband the protesters. They were eventually able to drive them out of the compound.

The Yemen attack came just two days after Egyptian Islamists attacked the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday night. Hours after the Egyptian attack, a mob of Libyans attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died in the chaos.

Most media reports say the chain of protests in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and elsewhere was sparked by an obscure YouTube video that criticizes Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. But the heavy weaponry wielded by many of the Libyan protesters, and the date of the Tuesday attacks—September 11—indicate that the events were pre-planned and well executed. It may well be that the attack on the Yemeni embassy was an unplanned echo of Tuesday’s attack, but since the dust is still settling on the situation, it is difficult to say for sure.

To understand where the Middle East’s rapid radicalization is leading, read The King of the South.