Yemen halts oil production amid tribal attacks and unrest

YEMEN has stopped producing oil because of internal strife, a government official said, plunging the Arab world’s poorest nation into further economic decline.

Yemen was producing about 290,000 barrels of oil a day, a small amount in global terms, but income from the sales has provided funds for about 75% of the budget of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government.

Opponents of the regime, including powerful tribes, appear to be using the oil weapon to press their demand for Saleh’s resignation.