Saudi Arabia has said that airports, border crossings and ports controlled by the Arab coalition in Yemen are to reopen, a week after Riyadh closed down the whole country in retaliation for a Houthi ballistic missile attack.

Aden, Mocha and Mukalla’s ports will resume normal activity within 24 hours, as will Aden and Seyoun airports, the Saudi mission to the UN said on Monday.

However, major ports and airports under rebel control, which most of the country’s aid passes through, will remain closed until Riyadh has sought opinions from UN experts on how to prevent weapons from being smuggled in.

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The Saudi-led coalition operates in Yemen on behalf of the international backed, exiled government against both extremist groups and the Iran-backed Houthis, who have control of the capital, Sanaa.

A Houthi ballistic missile was shot down near Riyadh’s airport on 4 November in a display of the most sophisticated weaponry the rebels were thought to possess.

The Kingdom immediately blamed the attack on the Houthis’ allies, Lebanese Hezbollah and regional rival Iran, ordering the shut down of all transport in and out of Yemen to prevent weapons smuggling.

Iran has long denied supplying arms in the Yemeni conflict.

The decision was met with outrage by the UN and more than 20 different aid groups, which said even a temporary closure would bring millions in the war-torn country closer to “starvation and death”.

The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters

Yemen descended into a full-blown civil war in March 2015, and is now suffering from the worst cholera outbreak in history.

Almost three years of civil war have decimated the country’s infrastructure and put seven million of the 27-million strong population on the brink of famine.

Saudi Arabia and its regional partners’ extensive bombing campaign on the Houthis - which in some cases have targeted civilian buildings such as hospitals and funeral gatherings – have killed thousands of civilians.

The blockade on Yemen’s ports, land borders and air space has also been heavily criticised for preventing food and medical aid reaching civilians.

The latest crackdown could have further disastrous consequences for Yemen’s suffering people.

“The humanitarian situation in Yemen is extremely fragile and any disruption in the pipeline of critical supplies such as food, fuel and medicines has the potential to bring millions of people closer to starvation and death,” a statement from more than 20 UN agencies and charities warned.

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The Saudi announcement of the partial easing of the blockade was met with hostility by one top Houthi leader, who vowed retaliation against the neighbouring Kingdom.

The new measures had “shut down all doors for peace and dialogue,” Saleh al Sammad, the head of the Presidency Council of the Houthis, said during a rally of thousands of rebel supporters in the capital, Sanaa on Monday afternoon.

The more the blockade tightens, he said, the more the Houthis will develop their abilities to “respond to the assault of the enemy.”