ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni security forces intensified security measures near several government institutions in the southern port city of Aden following calls from pro-secession southern leaders to stage a public uprising.
A source of the Presidential Guard troops loyal to the government told Xinhua that they have started deploying armored vehicles to secure the government buildings, the city's seaport and other institutions from any sabotage.
Other military units loyal to the government upgraded their alert levels to confront possible acts that may destabilize the situation in Aden, the source confirmed.
The deployment came just a few hours after the statement released by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) which blamed the Saudi-backed government for rampant corruption and vowed to organize an uprising.
Meanwhile, military units loyal to the STC started preparations to seize all government institutions in Aden and other neighboring southern provinces.
The Saudi-backed Yemeni government warned of mass riots after the STC's call for a public uprising, and urged the citizens to protect the institutions in the southern provinces.
The southern port city of Aden, where Yemen's government is temporarily based, has been suffering from frequent power outages and lack of basic services including water, leading to public rage against local authorities.
The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries intervened militarily and began pounding the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in March 2015 in response to an official public request from exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to protect Yemen.
The internal military conflict between Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government recently entered its fourth year, amid aggravated suffering of Yemenis and the world's worst humanitarian crisis in the country.
