2 killed, 10 injured in clashes near presidential palace in Yemen's Aden (UPDATED)
At least two people were killed and 10 others injured in clashes between presidential guard forces and mourners in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday, a medical official told Xinhua, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
A source working at Jamhuria public hospital in Aden said on condition of anonymity that "the medical teams received two killed mourners and 10 others injured in the clashes that occurred at a cemetery near the presidential compound."
Ambulances were dispatched to the clashes site to transfer a number of injured soldiers as clashes are still ongoing in the area, the medical source said.
Witnesses told Xinhua by phone that mourners attempted to storm the locations of the presidential guard forces near the palace, sparking clashes in the area of Crater in Aden.
Other security units loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) guarding the mourners intervened and opened fire towards the president guard forces in Crater, according to the witnesses.
Following the armed clashes, Hani Bin Buraik, the deputy president of the Aden-based STC, delivered a televised speech, calling on the people to march towards the presidential palace and overthrow the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
22:01 (GMT+4) Southern separatists clashed on Wednesday with presidential guards in Aden, the seat of Yemen’s government, and one person was killed and at least two badly injured, local officials and residents told Reuters, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The separatists and the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are nominally united in their battle against the Houthis.
But they have rival agendas for Yemen’s future, and a missile strike in Aden last week that killed dozens of southern soldiers raised friction between them.
Just before Wednesday’s clash, hundreds of separatist supporters attended a funeral for some of the southern soldiers and a prominent commander near the hilltop presidential palace.
As the crowd chanted anti-government slogans, shooting was exchanged with presidential guards. The identities of the one dead and two injured people were not immediately known.
After the funeral, the vice-president of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), Hani Ali Brik, called on supporters to march on the palace and overthrow the government, but there was no sign such a march had begun.
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