Two soldiers died in clashes between Yemen's regular army and the Republican Guard, elite forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in the southeastern city of Mukalla, medics said on Tuesday.

Witnesses said the two forces clashed near a presidential palace in Mukallah late on Monday.

"The bodies of two soldiers, one of a soldier with the army and another of a member of the Republican Guard, were brought in" to a hospital in Mukalla, the medics said.