AT LEAST 15 people were killed in a Saudi Arabian air raid today on the Yemeni city of Taiz, local officials said.

They said the strike hit a house in Dimnat Khadir district, an area that has seen heavy fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-allied Houthi rebels. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.

The latest victims of the Gulf kingdom’s three-year war on its southern neighbour, which has seen more than 10,000 civilians killed in bombing runs and sparked a cholera outbreak and famine, were reported as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was feted by French politicians.

Protests were planned in various French cities as human rights organisations called on President Emmanuel Macron to stop arms sales and put pressure on the despotic monarchy to end the war.

Saudi Arabia also ramped up threats against Qatar today, with media reports that it planned to dig a “maritime trench” along the border and turn its rival into an island.