Pro-government forces in Yemen on Saturday thwarted an operation to smuggle weapons to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) off the coast of Abyan in the south of the country.
Local sources said a pro-government soldier was killed and another was wounded while three STC fighters were injured during armed confrontations between the two sides in the city of Ahwar, south-east of Abyan Governorate.
The sources said the government forces were on a security mission to thwart the entry of weapons via a ship which arrived in the Hura area between the governorates of Shabwa and Abyan, in the early hours of Saturday.
According to the sources, the pro-government forces prevented the ship from berthing and forced it to leave the area, clashes erupted with southern militias in the area who were awaiting the delivery of the weapons.
The sources confirmed that the commander of the security belt forces in Ahwar city, known as Al-Habadi, and two of his militants were injured during the clashes.
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