Most U.S. government workers, families evacuated from Tunisia, Sudan http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/most-us-government-workers-families-evacuated-from-tunisia-sudan/2012/09/16/4284b4ba-fff5-11e1-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_story.html
The Washington Post 9:23 AM - 16 Sep 12 · Details
Most U.S. government workers, families evacuated from Tunisia, Sudan
By Michael Birnbaum and Karen DeYoung, Sunday, September 16, 8:10 AM
CAIRO — The Obama administration ordered the evacuation of all but emergency U.S. government personnel, and all family members, from diplomatic missions in Tunisia and Sudan on Saturday and warned Americans not to travel to those countries.
The action came as leaders across the Muslim world took stock of their relationship with the United States, a major provider of aid and investment, and struggled to balance it with the will of their populations. In Sudan, the State Department order came after the government in Khartoum rejected a U.S. request to send a Marine anti-terrorism unit to protect the embassy there, which came under attack by protesters Friday.
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American outposts in the Middle East are watching for new demonstrations over a movie that ridicules the prophet Muhammad. Protests have occurred in at least 10 nations since the first disturbances on Tuesday at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.
Muslim protests around the world
In Yemen, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement urging more killings of U.S. diplomats, and the Yemeni parliament demanded that all foreign troops in the country be sent home, including roughly 50 U.S. Marines deployed to protect the embassy there. The U.S. military and CIA have been in Yemen for some time, in cooperation with the Yemeni government, as part of counterterrorism operations.
The decision to evacuate was the latest consequence of a week of anti-American rage across more than 20 countries in the Muslim world. The violence was kicked off by a controversial video mocking the prophet Muhammad and has left close to a dozen dead, including four Americans killed in a consulate attack in Libya. A tense calm held across the Middle East on Sunday, but the fears of continued violence lingered. Israel’s national airline, El Al, announced Sunday that it would stop flying to Cairo, citing high security and operating costs for largely empty flights, the Associated Press reported.
