Clashes between the UAE-backed Shabwani elite forces and government forces have expanded in the town of Ataq in Shabwa province, southeast of Yemen, local sources said.

The sources said that heavy weapons were used in the clashes, which intensified on Thursday evening after the failure of tribal mediation to contain tension between the parties.

The sources confirmed the failure of tribal mediation after the rejection of the elite militants of the Southern Transitional Council - seeking to separate southern Yemen from the north - the return of government forces to their positions. The two sides have reinforced in the past two days, according to local sources.

Saudi forces had arrived in the city of Ataq as mediators were trying to reach an agreement that would prevent a military confrontation.

For its part, the Anatolia news agency quoted a military source in Ataq that the clashes are going on the outskirts of the city, explaining that the forces of Shabwani elite stationed outside the city and seek to storm, while government forces are trying to repel them.

During the clashes, fighter jets, believed to be Saudi, flew over the city. Anatolia quoted government sources in Shabwa that the Saudi committee, which arrived in the province earlier to contain the crisis met with Governor Mohammed Saleh and security and military leaders in the province.

The attempt by the Shabwani elite forces to storm Ataq and take control of the legitimate government forces less than two weeks after the overthrow of the Southern Transitional Council legitimacy in Aden, and then extended to the neighboring province of Abyan, where they took control of two camps for government forces.

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State institutions
Politically, the Yemeni cabinet warned Thursday against interfering in the work of state institutions in Aden, where advocates of secession of the south now control all civilian and military institutions.

At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Moin Abdul Malik in Riyadh, the council discussed ways to counter the insurgency in Aden led by armed groups backed by the United Arab Emirates and affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, the statement said.

The Yemeni government stressed that state institutions must continue to operate in the interim capital Aden.

It also stressed the redoubling of state employees to provide services to citizens despite the economic difficulties faced by the state, which is exacerbated by the insurgency and armed confrontations in Aden, according to the same statement.

After an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Yemeni government blamed the UAE for the Aden coup, demanding it stop funding militias, while Abu Dhabi, through its mission to the United Nations, denied it had supported the coup.

The Presidency of the Parliament of Yemen has asked President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi to review relations with the Saudi-UAE coalition.

In this context, Yemeni Minister of Transport Saleh al-Jabwani revealed the preparation of political and human rights files against the UAE for submission to international bodies and courts.