Yemeni security forces clash with pro-secession gunmen, 5 killed

The Yemeni security forces clashed with pro-secession militia in the southern port city of Aden on Monday afternoon, leaving at least five people killed, a government official told Xinhua.

"A unit of the special security troops engaged in armed clashes with dozens of pro-secession militia who tried to seize army vehicles loaded with weapons in Aden's neighborhood of Khor Maksar, leaving at least five people killed," the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

"The fighting erupted after pro-secession gunmen established a checkpoint in downtown Aden and intercepted a vehicle full of arms belonging to the army troops," the government source said.

"The fighting spread across the main streets with sounds of huge blasts near a military base in downtown Aden," a local resident said.

Local medic at Jamhuria public hospital told Xinhua by phone that six wounded soldiers are in critical condition.

Earlier in the day, the pro-secession gunmen blocked the main streets in Aden city and shut down shops, hospitals, and public markets, according to local Yemeni officials.

The impoverished Arab country has seen persistent unrest since 2011 when mass protests forced the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took over power from Saleh in 2012 but failed to implement reforms in the government and army, nor advance reconciliation among political factions.

Yemen has since been facing growing secessionism and al-Qaida networks in the south and armed groups including the powerful Houthi in the north. Endit