ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Heavy security forces, backed by armored vehicles, have been deployed on Saturday across Yemen's southern port city of Aden following armed confrontations with unknown gunmen.
A source close to Aden's police chief told Xinhua that "the security forces, supported by the Saudi-led coalition, successfully aborted a plan aimed at creating chaos and instability in the city."
He said that unknown terrorist elements tried to storm Aden's security headquarters in khorMaksar district, sparking brief armed confrontations in the area.
Security troops were deployed around key government institutions and managed to arrest those terrorist elements shortly after the clashes, according to source.
Residents in Aden confirmed to Xinhua that warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition kept hovering over the city's airspace for a short period following the armed confrontations.
On Thursday evening, a well-trained brigade of the Saudi armed forces arrived in Aden for the purpose of securing the city's seaport, the oil refinery and the presidential compound.
The deployment of elite Saudi troops in Aden came following a growing tension between Yemen's internationally recognized government and leading UAE-loyal military leaders in the southern regions.
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.
