SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni officials say a protester was killed and five were wounded when forces loyal to the country’s internationally recognized government opened fire to disperse a rally by separatists in a southern province.

According to the officials, dozens of separatists took to the streets of the southern town of Azzan in Shabwa province on Thursday to denounce President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

A security official with Hadi’s government says most of the protesters were armed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter with reporters.

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In August, violent clashes erupted between forces loyal to Hadi and the separatists, who are ostensible allies in the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels who overran the capital, Sanaa, and most of the north in 2014.