ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were injured Wednesday in clashes in Aden between security forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government and rival militiamen, a security official told Xinhua.
The security source said that the clashes broke out in three residential neighborhoods of Sheikh Othman district in Aden province as forces aligned with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government deployed to arrest "a number of sabotage elements and outlaws in the area."
According to the Aden-based source who asked to remain anonymous "the security forces surrounded a neighborhood and tried to capture some wanted elements, but other militiamen intervened and caused the gunfight."
Other sources in Aden said that unknown gunmen launched an attack on a local police station and attempted to free arms dealers arrested by security forces earlier in the day.
Residents in Aden confirmed to Xinhua that the UAE Apache military chopper hovered over Aden's airspace and targeted two armored vehicles belonging to the militiamen.
Houses and stores located in the neighborhood of Sheikh Othman were partially affected as a result of the four-hour gunbattle, the residents said.
Local media outlets reported that loud explosions and heavy artillery fire ranged out across the Sheikh Othman district throughout Tuesday night.
The southern port city of Aden is the headquarters of Yemen's internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government.
Aden witnessed several well-planned assassinations and armed attacks after Saudi-backed forces drove the Shiite Houthi rebels out from the strategic city in July 2015.
Yemen has been suffering from a civil war and a Saudi-led military intervention for around two years.
The civil war began after the Houthi militants with support from forces loyal to the former president ousted the UN-backed transitional government and occupied capital Sanaa militarily in September 2014.
The legitimate government controls the south and some eastern parts, while the Houthi-Saleh alliance controls the other parts including the capital Sanaa.
The UN has sponsored peace talks between the warring factions several times, but the factions failed to reach common ground.
The civil war, ground battles and airstrikes have already killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more than 35,000 others and displaced over two million, according to humanitarian agencies.
