ADEN: Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Ansar al-Sharia militant group have taken control of an army base in southern Yemen and are holding soldiers prisoner, the group said on its Twitter account on Thursday.

Yemen is edging closer towards civil war as the Houthis, an Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim militia from the north, consolidate their grip on power after seizing the capital by force and sidelining the central government.

There was no comment from the government or the military on Ansar al-Sharia seizing the army base. Residents and local news sites reported that the base in the southern province of Shabwa, housing a brigade of 1,200-2,000 soldiers, fell in heavy clashes lasting several hours.