There are no immediate plans to evacuate the embassy, but the USS Fort McHenry and the USS Iwo Jima warships would remain on standby off the Yemeni coast "because they will be in the best position if asked," CNN quoted a US official familiar with the evacuation plan, as saying.
The decision to dispatch the ships was taken by the US Department of State as clashes between the Houthi rebels and Yemeni government troops in the country's capital Sanaa have intensified.
The latest media reports indicate that the insurgents have seized the president’s residence in Sanaa, with Yemeni Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf referring to the situation as the "completion of a coup,” according to CNN.
Sakkaf confirmed that President Abdu Rabu Mansur Hadi was not in control of the palace. The Yemeni leader was believed to be at another location when the siege occurred.
In the past 48 hours, Houthi fighters targeted a US diplomatic vehicle, despite a reported ceasefire. No injuries were reported in the incident.
The Houthis, Yemen's main opposition movement, played a major part in ousting former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012. Last September, the Houthi insurgency overran the capital and spread across western and central parts of the country.
