The US State Department has announced that it is closing the US embassy in Djibouti pending a review of the facility’s security posture. The announcement comes a day after Sheikh Hassan Hussein, a Somali al Shabaab cleric, insinuated that an attack on US interests in the region is in the offing.
The embassy has promised to resume regular services on Sunday, though emergency services can still be accessed. The State Department has urged people visiting or working in the embassy to maintain vigilance as well as take precautions to enhance their own personal safety.
Al Shabaab has carried out attacks in Djibouti, and the presence of al Shabaab cells buttressed by local sympathizers does endanger the national security of the Horn of Africa nation. Djibouti is also plagued by Islamist terrorism emanating from AQAP (which has its operational bases in the neighboring Yemen).
The closure of the embassy facilities from Thursday till Saturday implies that the US intelligence agencies assess that either al Shabaab or al Qaeda may conduct an attack on the embassy on either Friday or Saturday.
Al Shabaab considers Djibouti as its Red Sea frontier, and it favors a coup (to be carried out by Islamists) against the current government.
