Yemen's main oil pipeline attacked, flow of crude halted

June 14 (Reuters) - Tribesmen blew up Yemen's main oil export pipeline on Friday, halting the flow of crude just a day after it had been repaired following a similar attack last month, a local official said.

The Arabian Peninsula state, which relies on crude exports to replenish its reserves and finance up to 70 percent of budget spending, has suffered frequent bombings of its main pipeline in central Maarib province since an uprising broke out in 2011.

The tribesmen in the province are unemployed and are demanding to be allowed to join the armed forces, the official said.

A third of Yemen's 25 million people live under a poverty line of $2 a day and unemployment is estimated at around 35 percent - with youth joblessness at 60 percent.

The pipeline, which leads to the Red Sea, had been pumping around 125,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the previous attack on May 24.

Yemen's stability is a priority for the United States and its Gulf Arab allies because of its strategic position next to oil exporter Saudi Arabia and shipping lanes, and because is home to one of al Qaeda's most active wings. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Raissa Kasolowsky; Editing by Pravin Char)