According to the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper on Sunday, out of 96 border villages targeted for demolition, as many as 10 of them have been destroyed since Riyadh started its airstrikes on Yemen.

The border guard chief in the area, Hassan Aqili, said the decision is to prevent the empty houses in the villages from turning into "a safe haven for traffickers and infiltrators," the Saudi newspaper reported.

Hundreds of people have lost their lives since the Saudi airstrikes started more than a week ago, with the UN humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, saying she is "extremely concerned" about the fate of the civilians.

In late March, Hadi fled Aden, where he had sought to set up a rival power base, to Riyadh after Ansarullah revolutionaries advanced on the port city.