ADEN (Dispatches) – Southern separatists in Yemen have seized two military bases near the southern port of Aden, triggering fresh clashes between nominal allies that have complicated UN peace efforts, residents and officials said.
The separatists and the former regime are both part of a Saudi-led military coalition.
Forces belonging to pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Tuesday seized the military base in the southern province of Abyan, a security official told Xinhua.
"The STC forces launched an intensive attack using heavy weapons after besieging the military base located in Al Kud area in Abyan's southern part," the security source said on condition of anonymity.
"The STC troops stormed the former regime’s military base from several directions and managed to seize it completely after brief clashes," he added.
The ongoing clashes have killed about five people from both sides and injured several others, the source noted.
Earlier in the day, large-scale clashes broke out between the STC military units and former regime forces over the control of Zinjibar, Abyan's capital city.
Key social figures, who are trying to mediate, suggested the handover of the military bases to the STC peacefully to avoid armed confrontations and violence, according to local sources.
The STC forces completely seized the strategic southern port city of Aden last week following days of intense street fighting with the government forces.
On another front in the north, the Saudi-led coalition said it launched air strikes overnight on Houthi military targets in Sanaa. The coalition claimed on Tuesday that its air strikes on Sanaa struck caves storing missiles, drones and weapons.
The violence and cracks in the coalition could hamper United Nations efforts to push forward peace agreements and talks to end a war that has killed tens of thousands and driven the poorest Arabian Peninsula country to the brink of famine.