World Bulletin / News Desk

A road linking Yemen's capital to an oil-producing province was opened for the first time in more than a year on Sunday, after the army and tribal fighters agreed to withdraw from positions along the route, military officials said.

Yemen's Republican Guard had skirmished with tribal groups in the area, blocking deliveries of gas and other products from Maarib to the capital.

Both sides agreed to pull out after negotiations, said an official from Yemen's military committee - a body set up to separate belligerent factions of Yemen's army and tribal fighters following months of unrest in the impoverished country.

The tribal groups backed an uprising which started last year and eventually ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Republican Guard is led by Saleh's son.