8 killed in clashes in southern Yemen

Five soldiers and three militants were killed on Thursday evening in clashes between the Yemeni army and a group of militants in the southern port city of Aden, said a military official.

"The clashes between the army and about 30 well-armed men took place in Mansoura district in Aden city, near a pro-secession protest camp, leaving eight people killed," Colonel Khaled Al-Gharbany told Xinhua by phone.

"The clashes erupted as the militants attempted to take control over an army site located near the secessionist protest camp," Al-Gharbany said.

The unidentified attackers are still besieging the military site, while army reinforcements have arrived at the scene, the official added.

Local residents said the attackers used heavy weaponry and rocket-propelled grenades during the clashes that lasted more than two hours.

However, a leader of the pro-secession Southern Movement told Xinhua that "the attackers are not from our movement. We have no plans to attack the army in Aden."

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

President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took over power in 2012, but submitted resignation to the parliament on Jan. 22 amid standoff with the Houthi group.

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