Four Yemenis were killed and seven injured in an armed exchange that broke out Tuesday evening between the army and tribal militants in the south of the country. The militants are believed to be associated with Hirak: a separatist movement demanding the recreation of a southern Yemeni state after it united with the north in 1990. Local sources in ad-Dali province told Arabstoday that Yemeni army forces from the 33rd Armoured Brigade clashed violently with tribal militants. The incident, in which heavy weapons were used, was triggered by the militants’ targeting of brigade vehicles, killing two soldiers and injuring four more. Army fire killed two local residents and injured three more, including a young girl, the sources reported, adding that the clashes ended when tribal leaders intervened on both sides. The 33rd Armoured Brigade was recently moved from Taiz province to ad-Dali as the brigade covering ad-Dali was moved to Taiz as part of an army redeployment operation.