Sanaa, Jul 29 (IANS): Fire broke out at two crude oil wells in the central Yemeni province of Marib following an attack by tribal armed men, a government source said.

"The two crude wells caught fire after the armed tribal men shot toward the wells following a dispute with the government-run Safir company," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity on Sunday.

The source said that the security forces cordoned off the area as firefighters managed to extinguish fire at one well, Xinhua reported.

Yemen's oil production in Marib has halted since the civil war erupted between the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Shiite Houthi rebels in late 2014.

The war has pushed the country to the brink of famine and caused one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.

According to the government data, the oilfields in Marib and the southern provinces of Shabwa and Hadramout produced produced about 127,000 barrels of oil per day in 2014 before the rebels overran much of the country's north including the capital Sanaa.

The government resumed crude oil output of Masila oilfields in Hadramout in 2016 and Shabwa oilfields in early 2018.