ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Intense fighting flared on Tuesday between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and military units of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the country's province of Abyan, further straining a cease-fire brokered by the Saudi-led coalition.
Both of the warring sides engaged in ferocious fighting over the control of Shuqrah city that lies along the coast of the Arabian Sea, complicating the ongoing efforts aimed at de-escalation.
According to a military official who asked to remain anonymous, several military units belonging to the STC managed to control the coastal city of Shuqrah following intense fighting with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.
He said that the STC forces brought heavy troops from the neighboring southern port city of Aden and then stormed the coastal city of Shuqrah, forcing the government forces to withdraw into other areas.
"The government forces failed to stay longer in the strategic city of Shuqrah because the STC military units on the ground were more powerful militarily," said the source.
Some of the government forces linked to the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party withdrew from key military locations in Abyan after the arrival of the STC forces backed by tanks and armored vehicles, according to the source.
A statement released by the Security Belt forces that are belonging to the STC said that "two military vehicles carrying military leaders were completely burned during the fighting in Abyan."
A senior military commander of the government forces named as Abu Qahtan was critically injured during the clashes with the STC forces in Abyan, according to the statement.
Nizar Haitham, the official spokesperson of the Aden-based STC, said in brief statement that "militias of the Islah government violated the cease-fire again and assaulted the southern security troops positioned in Shuqrah."
He said that their security forces intervened and "aborted the attempts of the Islahi militias aimed at expansion and destabilizing the situation in the country's southern part."
On Monday, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government declared a cease-fire with the forces of the STC in the country's southern regions.
The Yemeni Defense Ministry ordered all the government's military units positioned in the southeastern province of Shabwa and in the southern provinces of Abyan and Aden to immediately stop fighting.
The cease-fire declaration came just hours after the Saudi-led coalition involved in a war in Yemen announced the formation of a Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates (UAE) joint committee.
According to Saudi media outlets, the coalition said that the joint committee would start work from Monday to stabilize the cease-fire in Shabwa and Abyan.
Turki Al Maliki, spokesman of the coalition, highlighted the necessity for a commitment by all parties in Shabwa to upholding the cease-fire and maintaining calm.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia and the UAE issued a joint statement calling for engagement in the dialogue that Saudi Arabia has called for to address the problems in some southern Yemeni provinces.
Local military observers based in Aden said that stabilizing the situation in Yemen's southern provinces requires serious intervention from the neighboring countries to resolve the issue either politically or militarily.
Ali Bin Hadi, a southern military observer, told Xinhua that "Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the upper hand and are capable to end the military conflict that's raging over the control of key southern regions through reconciliation talks or other actions."
He said that "both of the warring sides are using military vehicles and heavy weapons provided by the Saudi-led coalition that's obliged to find urgent solutions to avoid further escalation in southern Yemen."
Earlier this month, the STC forces completely seized Aden after days of intense street fighting with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, leaving scores killed and injured.
The Yemeni government held the STC and the UAE, a key partner of the anti-Houthi Saudi-led military coalition, fully responsible for the consequences of the coup against the legitimate authorities in Aden.
But the STC southern forces kept advancing militarily on the ground and gained full control of the neighboring province of Abyan.
The STC is 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.
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.
