An army base in southern Yemen was reportedly seized Thursday by al Qaeda-linked fighters.
On the same day that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that Yemen was “collapsing before our eyes,” members of Ansar al-Sharia took over the base in Bayhan and captured soldiers, BBC reported Thursday.
Jamal Benomar, the U.N.’s envoy to Yemen, said that Yemen was at the point of “civil war and disintegration,” BCC reported.
One official told Agence France-Presse that heavy weaponry was inside the base that was taken over.
BBC reported that tribal mediators were trying to convince Ansar al-Sharia to leave the base.
Houthi rebels forced former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to resign Jan. 22 when the presidential palace was taken over. Since then, Yemen’s parliament has been disbanded and embassies for the U.S., the United Kingdom and France have closed.
SEE ALSO: Ban Ki-moon: ‘Yemen is collapsing before our eyes’
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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