The US State Department has issued a warning to Americans currently living in Yemen telling them to leave the country.

The warning issued on 21 July says “the security threat level in Yemen is extremely high” and warns that the US embassy in Yemen has limited ability to assist US citizens in the event of an emergency. It also says the US government is “highly concerned about possible attacks on… businesses, and perceived US and Western interests.”

Political unrest and related violence is becoming increasingly disruptive to oil companies based in the country and weakening the government.

Over recent weeks Houthi rebels have made significant gains in the country’s North West as well as in areas around the country’s capital, Sanaa. On 8 July, rebels took Amran, a town just 50km north of Sanaa, sparking fears they could march on the capital.

Elsewhere in the country government troops are battling Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the south of the country and Sunni tribesmen in the north.