SANAA, Yemen— Yemeni government forces clashed Sunday with militant groups for control over the strategic Port of Aden in the southern city with the same name, the Associated Press agency cited Yemeni government officials as saying.
The officials say the militants — who are using the port to run lucrative smuggling operations — have refused to hand over the port to the government. They accuse the militants of receiving support from al-Qaida.
A drive-by shooting on Thursday in Aden killed Ahmed al-Idrisi, a top pro-government militia leader, and five of his companions, just hours after he reluctantly agreed to hand over control of the city’s port to government troops.
Residents in a neighborhood near the port described seeing militiamen deploy in the area and hearing clashes between the militia fighters and government forces.
The officials said heavy clashes are taking place at the port’s main gate.
Yemen has been embroiled in fighting pitting the country’s internationally recognized government based in Aden and a U.S-backed Saudi-led coalition against Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are allied with a former president
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi appointed Aidarous al-Zubaidi as the new Aden governor last month after a Dec. 6 bomb claimed by a local Islamic State affiliate killed a former Aden governor.
The new governor’s plan targets recapturing police stations and other state buildings currently controlled by armed groups, according to a security official.
All officials and residents spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters or feared reprisals.