SAUDI ARABIA, which has faced widespread international criticism over its blockade of all Yemen’s air and seaports, announced yesterday that its coalition fighting Houthi Shi’ite popular committees will begin reopening them.

Riyadh announced the closure after intercepting a Houthi ballistic missile attack on its international airport.

Over 20 aid groups had warned that the measure could bring millions of people closer to “starvation and death.”

The Saudi mission at the United Nations said that the first step would be taken within 24 hours and involved reopening all the ports in areas controlled by Yemen’s Riyadh-backed internationally recognised government.

However, Saleh al-Sammad, who heads the Presidency Council of the Houthis, vowed retaliation against Saudi Arabia for its blockade.

He said that it had “shut down all doors for peace and dialogue,” adding that the more the blockade tightens, the more the Houthis will “respond to the assault of the enemy.”