by Our Foreign Desk

SAUDI warplanes blitzed Yemen in more than 50 separate raids yesterday despite the announcement of a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds.

The Saudi-led regional coalition claimed the latest round of air strikes in the northern Yemen province of Saada was in response to rocket and mortar attacks by Yemeni forces on Saudi cities that killed three people on Tuesday.

Speaking for the coalition, Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri threatened a “harsh response” to the attacks and said the Yemenis “made a mistake by targeting Saudi cities.”

Saudi Arabia and its allies have been bombarding Yemen for more than a month in an attempt to overthrow the Houthi rebels, who took over the capital Sanaa at the end of last year, ousting president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who eventually fled via the port city of Aden to Saudi Arabia. The Shi’ite rebels retain control of the country’s parliament.

More than 1,400 people have died since the assault began on March 26, while fighting between Houthi fighters and forces loyal to the former president rages around Aden, the country’s second-largest city.

The Saudi Press Agency reported that warplanes had destroyed an alleged landmine factory, a telecommunications complex and command centres in Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold in the north of the country. Meanwhile, helicopters dropped propaganda leaflets warning civilians to stay away from military positions, according to Yemeni officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The latest attacks came despite an agreement between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir to call a five-day ceasefire.

The truce was agreed during Mr Kerry’s whistlestop tour of the Horn of Africa and Middle East regions earlier this week, with the ostensible aim of allowing humanitarian aid to enter Yemen.

Hamed al-Bokheiti, a spokesman for the Houthi leadership in Sanaa, was dismissive of the ceasefire on Thursday.

“What ceasefire are we talking about? Air strikes are continuing unabated,” he said.

In Iran, whose Shi’ite regime supports the rebels, some 6,000 protesters took to the streets chanting: “Death to America” and “Death to the Saud family,” in reference to the Saudi royal dynasty.