by Murad Abdo

ADEN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The forces royal to Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Tuesday completely seized the southern province of Abyan after intense fighting with government forces.

"The STC forces backed by several armored vehicles expanded on-ground and launched a number of large-scale attacks against the government military bases in Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province," a senior government official in Abyan told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

He said that the STC forces tightly besieged the government's military and security bases in Zinjibar and then stormed the whole city.

"All the government's military bases and institutions are now completely under the control of the STC forces deployed in and around Zinjibar city," said the source.

He explained that the "STC forces also attacked the offices of the local government and expelled all the employees and workers in the Saudi-backed Yemeni government."

Yemen's government forces, including the special security forces, were overwhelmed and failed to repulse the attacks by the forces of the Aden-based STC, according to a local source.

The STC forces launched an intense attack using heavy weapons after besieging the military base in Al Kud, southern Abyan.

"The STC troops stormed the government's military base in Al Kud from several directions and managed to seize it completely after brief clashes," said a local source anonymously.

The ongoing clashes have killed about five people from both sides and injured around 30 others, medical sources told Xinhua.

Key social figures suggested a peaceful handover of the government's military bases to the STC to avoid armed confrontations and violence, according to local sources.

A tribal source told Xinhua by phone that "we launched mediation efforts and attempted to avoid more escalation that may lead to heavy bloodshed between the two warring rivals."

"The government military leaders agreed to leave the area along with their bodyguards only, and the STC forces entered the army bases afterward," said the source.

He concluded that "all the powerful tribes are standing with the STC forces that can play more vital roles in securing the southern provinces and combating terrorism, rather than the government forces."

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government considered the escalation of the STC in Aden and other neighboring provinces including Abyan unacceptable, and may abort the mediation efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia to calm the situation.

Saudi Arabia, which leads the anti-Houthi coalition in Yemen, is making hard efforts to de-escalate the tension in the country's southern part and officially invited the STC and Yemen's government to attend reconciliation talks in the Kingdom.

"The unjustified escalation in the Abyan province by the UAE-backed STC is unacceptable and will undermine the mediation efforts exerted by our Saudi brothers," the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We refuse the continuation in providing financial and military support to the outlawed STC forces by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and we renew our call for an immediate and complete halt," said the statement.

The STC acknowledged that its forces rapidly advanced on-ground and declared its full control over the province of Abyan.

"What happened this morning was cleansing Abyan from terrorism and that was all within the framework of the STC, which begins its plans in Aden and Abyan, and then will continue in Hadramout and other southeastern provinces," Jamal Haidara, a member of the STC's media department, told Xinhua.

The STC forces completely seized the strategic southern port city of Aden last week after days of intense street fighting with the government forces earlier this month.

Aden's fighting started when senior leaders of the STC accused the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of "backing Islamists and leaking information to the Iran-backed Houthis," who targeted an army base in Aden last week, killing scores of soldiers including some commanders.

Considered as Yemen's temporary capital, Aden is where the Yemeni government has based itself since 2015.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces including the capital Sanaa. Enditem

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