At least two people including an ex security director were killed and four others injured when clashes resumed between the security forces and armed gangs in Radfan, Lahj, on Tuesday.
Local sources were quoted by the Alsahwa website as saying that officer Haidra Al-Alyani, 60, died from his injuries in hospital.
Also, the website cited eyewitnesses as saying that Al-Alyani was killed as he got down from his car and entered an auto spare parts shop.
He was shot in his chest by soldiers who fired bullets randomly in Radfan while fighting armed people, the eyewitnesses said, adding that the other victim was a gangster, Saleh Yahya Muhsen.
The security forces continued to shell Radfan from the early morning until afternoon and homes were also damaged, the website reported.
Radfan is one of the areas in Lahj which has been seeing increasing violence in recent years.