Watch: Many killed, wounded in clashes between NTC, govt forces in Yemen's Abyan

Many people have been killed and wounded in clashes that broke out between the Southern Transitional Council (NTC) and government forces in Abyan governorate of Yemen, according to AJA Breaking. The southern separatists seized two Yemeni government military bases in Zinjibar in Abyan province on Tuesday that triggered a clash between the two forces that are otherwise allies under a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

عاجل | مصدر حكومي يمني: عشرات القتلى والجرحى في مواجهات بين قوات المجلس الانتقالي وقوات الحكومة في أبين

— الجزيرة - عاجل (@AJABreaking) August 20, 2019

The advisor to the Yemeni Minister of Information, Mukhtar Al Rahbi posted a video of the military vehicles on his Twitter account saying they have been sent by UAE. His tweet read, "All these armored vehicles were sent by the UAE to break into Abyan in the hands of their village racist militias. The UAE bears all the consequences of this rebellion and what happens next."

كل هذه المدرعات ارسلتها الإمارات لاقتحام وإسقاط أبين بيد مليشياتها العنصرية القروية. تتحمل الإمارات كل تبعات هذا التمرد وما سيحدث بعد ذلك . pic.twitter.com/BTnXH74l5l

— مختار الرحبي (@alrahbi5) August 20, 2019

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen said in a statement, "The unjustified escalation in Abyan governorate by STC forces supported by the UAE is totally unacceptable and undermines the greatly appreciated mediation efforts launched by the government of Saudi Arabia.

.@Yemen_MoFA: The unjustified escalation in #Abyan governorate by STC forces supported by the #UAE is totally unacceptable and undermines the greatly appreciated mediation efforts launched by Govt of Saudi Arabia. https://t.co/6P8EVPEtt0

— Yemen Embassy D.C. (@YemenEmbassy_DC) August 20, 2019

The southern are both parts of the Saudi-led pro-government military coalition that has been battling the Iran-aligned armed Houthi movement in Yemen since March 2015. The war has killed tens of thousands and pushed the poorest Arabian Peninsula nation to the brink of famine.

The separatists and Hadi's government are nominally united in their battle against the Houthis, who removed Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014, but they have rival agendas for Yemen's future.