At least two people were killed and six others injured in the clashes between the central security forces and protesters who took to the streets in Yemen's port city of Aden on the anniversary of the July 7th 1994, Almasdar Online reported, quoting eyewitnesses on Saturday.
Fans of the Southern Movement, Harak, held the demonstration on the anniversary of the 1994 civil war, which erupted after the south sought separation few years after the reunification with the north.
Clashes were continuing and the situation was tense in the Mansoura district, where the authorities have recently tightened security and deployed security reinforcements to control the situation.
"The clashes erupted near the martyr square in the district and central security forces and snipers on the rooftops of buildings fired at the demonstrators," the website quoted leaders in Harak as saying.
Security officials, however, accused gunmen of firing at the forces forcing them to respond, according to the website.
Security forces have been deployed to this area within the preparations to prevent possible violence on the anniversary.
More recently, the authorities imposed a security cordon around the Aden city, amid reports of alarming security disorders and arms spread in this city.
In Sanaa and other Yemeni cities demonstrations were held in support of the south cause. Slogans were chanted in Sanaa such as: the south cause is ours. Demonstrators also demanded the government to handle this issue fairly because it is the entry to solving the country's problems. Since 2007, Harak has been struggling to shed the light on the dilemma of the south including demands of injustice, looting properties and firing military and civil officials after the war.
Seeking the separation of the south, however, remains the highest demand, which is seen as a roadblock to a comprehensive national dialogue expected in the coming few months under a West-backed power-transfer deal.