Saudi Arabia warplanes bombard several areas in Yemen

According to the latest media reports early on Thursday, Saudi fighter jets bombarded Harad district in the northwestern province of Hajja and a government building in the southwestern province of Ad Dali'.

Saudi warplanes also launched airstrikes on several regions in the central province of Ma'rib.

There were no immediate reports on the extent of damage or the number of casualties.

The five-day Saudi-proposed truce came into effect on Sunday, but Riyadh has conducted numerous airstrikes in violation of the truce.

In a statement released on the first day of the truce, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had welcomed the ceasefire in Yemen and had called on the warring sides to “agree to and maintain the humanitarian pause for the sake of all the Yemeni people, and that all act in good faith throughout the pause.”

The humanitarian situation in Yemen has become critical, with many international aid organizations seeking a safe passage into the country to send much-needed medical and humanitarian supplies to the country.

The Saudi aggression against the impoverished Arab nation started on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the ruling Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

According to local sources, Saudi Arabia’s onslaught has so far claimed nearly 5,000 lives and displaced more than a million others inside the country.