ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tension mounted on Thursday between Yemen's government forces and the forces belonging to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) over the control of the country's southeastern province of Shabwa.
A security official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Xinhua that "the tension rose when military units of the STC demanded the government forces hand over the administration of Shabwa province and withdraw peacefully."
He said that both warring sides mobilized their troops and positioned in Attaq, Shabwa's capital city, amid fears of the eruption of an armed confrontation.
A mediation committee composed of senior Saudi military officials backed by a small security unit of the Saudi-led Arab coalition arrived in the province in an attempt to de-escalate the tension.
But the southern forces insisted on the complete withdrawal of the armed forces loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood Party, which is part of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, from Shabwa.
"Unless these forces withdraw, the situation will move towards military escalation and decisiveness in the upcoming hours," said the security official.
Local residents told Xinhua that military vehicles had been heavily deployed in several areas of the province, especially near the areas where the government forces are stationed in Attaq.
The tense situation in Shabwa comes after the STC forces that are demanding secession completely seized the southern port city of Aden and neighboring Abyan province from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
The STC was a part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition to fight Iran-backed Houthi militias in northern Yemen in a war that has rekindled old strains between the north and south of Yemen, which were separate countries until 1990.
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.
