The Fight for Yemen

>> NARRATOR: Tonight on Frontline: In Yemen, rival militants are fighting for control of the country-- Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and now the Houthis, with their hostile message to America and its allies: >> NARRATOR: Journalist Safa Al Ahmad spent months reporting from the middle of the conflict.

>> NARRATOR: She negotiated rare access to the Houthi rebels as they advanced.

>> NARRATOR: And she traveled into the heartland of Al Qaeda to meet the Houthis' bitter rivals.

>> NARRATOR: From inside Yemen, the story of how the Houthi rebels ignited a battle that has turned an American ally into a warzone of anti-american militants.

>> NARRATOR: With a Saudi led coalition trying to break the Houthis hold... (explosion) Frontline investigates "The Fight for Yemen."

>> AL AHMAD: I came to Yemen to try and understand what is driving the groups now fighting for control of the country.

(gunshots) In particular, I wanted to meet the Houthi rebels.

The Houthis had mobilized thousands of fighters, and by last fall they had begun pushing south from their northern stronghold close to the Saudi border.

Yemen's government was weak, its army fractured.

The Houthis saw an opportunity.

When I first arrived several months ago, the Houthis had already pushed into the capital, Sana'a.

The Houthis are mostly Zaidi Muslims, from the Shia branch of Islam.

Their slogan is now seen everywhere.

It's a political chant from the days of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian revolution.

It reads: "God is great, death to America, death to Israel, God curse the Jews, victory to Islam."

I stayed with the family of my close friend Radiya, a human rights activist.

Her father, Dr. Mohmed al Mutawakel, is a prominent, independent local politician.

I ask Radiya to take me on a drive around Sana'a, to show me how the city has changed since the Houthi takeover.

(giggles) >> AL AHMAD: The Houthis had set up checkpoints all over the city, but at the time they had left the Yemeni government bureaucracy functioning.

Their control was still tentative.

Abdulillah is a member of the so-called Revolutionary Committee, which the Houthis have established to impose their control on the government.

They are a secretive movement.

They won't even tell me how many of them are in the city.

After weeks of negotiations, they finally let me follow them in action.

>> AL AHMAD: This is an unannounced visit to the Ministry of Finance.

The Houthis had put their own guards inside the ministries.

>> AL AHMAD: Abdu Rabu Al Mortha is also a member of the Revolutionary Committee.

Together with Abdulillah, they had come to confront the deputy minister about billions of Yemeni riyals of government funds they said were missing.

They walk right into the office of Deputy Minister Jamal Al Maliki.

>> AL AHMAD: The Revolutionary Committee refused to leave until the deputy minister signed a document ordering an investigation into the missing funds.

The Houthi anti-corruption agenda helped them gain popular support, but their grab for power has also made them enemies.

They have largely driven out the previously dominant Muslim Brotherhood forces.

But they also face fierce opposition from Al Qaeda, which for years has been maintaining a stronghold in Yemen.

(explosion) (shouting) Three weeks after they took control, a huge bomb devastated a Houthi rally.

The bombing in Tahrir Square was the bloodiest in Sana'a for years, killing more than 60 people.

I arrived on the scene soon after the attack.

It was only my first week in Yemen.

>> AL AHMAD: Al Qaeda are fiercely opposed to the Houthis.

Their Sunni extremist beliefs mean they consider the Houthis heretics.

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The Houthi leadership quickly arranged a large state funeral for the victims and even bigger rallies in the following days.

I want to understand how this mountain militia managed to seize the capital of Yemen.

So I travel north, to the mountains of Sa'dah and the birthplace of the Houthis.

(explosion) They are a movement born of war.

The Yemeni government, fearing the spread of their ideology, launched six wars against the Houthis in the last decade.

Their leader and namesake was a Zaidi, Hussein al Houthi.

The Zaidis ruled North Yemen for more than a thousand years and make up roughly a quarter of Yemen's population.

At the heart of the Zaidi faith is the principle of rebellion against unjust rulers.

Following the attacks on the Twin Towers in September 2001, and the invasion of Iraq, Hussein al-Houthi developed a radical theory that combined Zaidi revivalism with an anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. agenda.

Dhayf Allah Al-Shami, a senior Houthi, was my guide in Sa'dah.

>> AL AHMAD: Hussein al-Houthi believed 9/11 was an American and Zionist conspiracy to occupy Muslim lands.

>> AL AHMAD: In 2004, Hussein al-Houthi and his men came under heavy attack by the Yemeni army.

They hid in a cave in the mountains of Sa'dah.

It's now become a shrine for his followers.

>> AL AHMAD: According to the Houthis, the Yemeni Army poured petrol into the cave, then set it on fire.

Many of al-Houthi's family were killed.

>> AL AHMAD: Hussein al-Houthi was allegedly captured by the army and later killed.

He became a martyr whose ideas still resonate today with his followers.

They compare his death to the martyrdom of one of the founders of Shia Islam, also called Hussein.

(explosions) >> AL AHMAD: By 2009, concerned about the Houthis on their border, Saudi Arabia joined the Yemeni army's attack on Sa'dah.

>> AL AHMAD: The old city of Sa'dah still bears the scars of the sixth and last war.

(children chanting) >> AL AHMAD: The government maintained an almost complete media blackout during their wars.

Until recently, very few in the west had ever heard of the Houthis.

The effects on the people of Sa'dah have been devastating.

Um Zayd was one of the few women who stayed during the conflict.

>> AL AHMAD: Um Zayd's backyard became a cemetery after shelling killed three children.

>> AL AHMAD: These wars helped turned a small group of Houthi ideologues into a fully fledged rebel movement.

Dhayf Allah offers to take me to the Saudi border.

The Houthis had just taken over the Yemeni government checkpoints.

After years of sporadic fighting between the Houthis and Saudi forces, this part of the border is now no man's land.

>> AL AHMAD: We met a local man who lived on the Yemeni side of the border.

On the Saudi side, we could see a deserted village, emptied by the Saudi authorities during the 2009 war against the Houthis.

>> AL AHMAD: The Saudis attempted to establish a border.

But the villagers have found a way around it.

>> AL AHMAD: It is dangerous for Yemenis to attempt to cross the border.

The Saudis are on guard.

>> AL AHMAD: As part of their push for power, the Houthis hope to seize territory across the Saudi border, claiming land they say is rightfully Yemen's.

>> AL AHMAD: For the moment, the Saudi border may be the limit of Houthi control.

But their ambitions go way beyond it.

>> AL AHMAD: The Saudis see them as a potent threat and accuse the Houthis of collusion with their regional archrival, Iran.

It has been widely reported that Iran gives the group weapons, money, and training.

>> AL AHMAD: But the struggle against the Houthis inside Yemen is fierce.

For years, powerful Yemeni tribes received money from Saudi Arabia.

Now the Saudis back the Sunni tribes opposed to the Houthis with cash and arms.

And then there is Al Qaeda.

I first saw Al Qaeda's grip on Yemen three years ago, while filming for Frontline.

I went to Ja'ar, a town Al Qaeda had taken control of in 2011 with little resistance from the army.

The Yemeni government had been receiving arms, training, and intelligence from the United States to help fight Al Qaeda growing in Yemen.

Ja'ar is in the south, not far from the Gulf of Aden.

As we reached the edge of town, the flag of Al Qaeda, a clear sign I had entered their territory.

>> AL AHMAD: Our contact was a fighter and political officer who called himself Fouad.

He was a member of Ansar al Sharia, the local affiliate of Al Qaeda.

The United States considers this branch of Al Qaeda among the most dangerous in the world.

It has been behind plots to attack the United States.

Fouad said U.S. drones and the Yemeni air force often attack them.

>> AL AHMAD: He agreed to take us on a tour of Ja'ar.

He wanted to show us how Al Qaeda effectively governed an entire city.

Back then, three years ago, attacks from American and Yemeni forces made the locals fear for their lives.

>> AL AHMAD: Surprisingly, we found Al Qaeda allowed national newspapers to be sold.

This headline said a government air strike had killed many local fighters.

>> AL AHMAD: To show their strength, Al Qaeda summoned locals to the town theater, where they were shown this video of Al Qaeda fighters attacking a major army base close to Ja'ar.

(gunfire) (shouting) Almost 200 Yemeni soldiers were reportedly killed.

Dozens were taken prisoner and believed to be held near Ja'ar.

The regional Al Qaeda commander at the time, Jalal al Marqashi, was filmed visiting the prisoners.

>> AL AHMAD: We were taken to see some of those prisoners.

They were being held in a series of small rooms.

While the camera was rolling, they pleaded for the government to agree to demands for a prisoner exchange.

>> AL AHMAD: Back then, Al Qaeda's target was the whole Yemeni army because they were seen as agents of the United States.

>> AL AHMAD: By the time we got back to Ja'ar, it was evening.

Families were on the street.

Stores were open, but most of the shopkeepers weren't inside.

Al Qaeda has its own way of policing.

We were told three thieves recently had their hands cut off by Al Qaeda.

(loud chanting) It was time for evening prayers.

Everyone had to go to the mosque and pray.

We asked what would happen if they didn't attend.

We were told they would be locked up.

As night approached, we decided it was too dangerous to stay.

Just the day before we arrived, a U.S. drone struck the town.

Drone missions have been a key part of American counterterrorism policy in Yemen, including the attack which killed American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in the 2011.

Three years after that trip I was back, traveling once again into Al Qaeda territory-- into Al Bayda province.

But this time the Houthi rebels had managed to extend their control into Al Qaeda heartland.

I'm on one of the most dangerous roads in Yemen, notorious for bandits and thieves.

Only a few months ago, it would have been impossible for me to get here.

>> AL AHMAD: Now there are regular Houthi checkpoints.

An armed escort took us to Rada'.

This is the Houthi front line against Al Qaeda.

Three weeks before we arrived, they had fought an intense battle to take the city.

Walid, a Houthi fighter, shows us around.

>> AL AHMAD: Al Qaeda ruled this city for four years with hardly any reaction from the weak Yemeni government.

This mosque was one of their headquarters.

Tariq al Thahab, a powerful tribal leader, brought Al Qaeda into the region and tried to declare it an Islamic emirate.

>> AL AHMAD: The Al Amriya mosque was built in the 16th century as a center for Islamic learning and religious study.

Here, and throughout Yemen, there was no tradition of sectarian hatred.

But according to Walid, Al Qaeda preached a creed of division.

>> AL AHMAD: Walid has also accused Al Qaeda of breaking tribal traditions and targeting civilians.

>> AL AHMAD: Walid wanted me to meet orphans whose families he says were killed by Al Qaeda.

>> AL AHMAD: Despite the Houthi presence, the city was still vulnerable.

Several weeks before, a suicide bomber from Al Qaeda managed to reach the outskirts of Rada'.

The Houthis say a young child was put in the front seat to try to sneak the bomb past a checkpoint.

>> AL AHMAD: Many of the locals I talked to were afraid of a Houthi retreat, fearing that Al Qaeda would seek revenge on the town.

But the Houthis seem determined to stay.

>> AL AHMAD: Walid wanted to prove to me that Al Qaeda will not be allowed to return.

>> AL AHMAD: After months of following the Houthis, I wanted to meet those who oppose them and hear what they have to say.

Kidnapping is a high risk in these areas, but after careful negotiations with the tribal leaders, my camera crew was allowed to cross to the other side of the front line without me.

In the mountains beyond Rada' are the Sunni militias fighting the Houthis.

As the team arrived, an argument broke out over whether they would be allowed to film.

>> AL AHMAD: Many of the Sunni tribes in Al Bayda province are allied to Al Qaeda, but not all.

However, they are united in their fight against the Houthis.

>> AL AHMAD: Abdullah Al Khubzi was a commander under the Al Qaeda leader Tariq al Thahab.

Now he leads several hundred men against the Houthis.

>> AL AHMAD: Opposition to the Houthi advance is spreading across the southern Bayda province.

The fractious Sunni tribes from the region have come together.

Thousands of fighters have joined this new alliance.

The head of that alliance, Ziyad Al Majdali, says he is not Al Qaeda but he is unequivocal that he has a religious duty to fight the Houthis.

>> AL AHMAD: But in other parts of Bayda province, some people feel Al Qaeda has not gone far enough.

Ahmad Khamis, a prominent local jihadi, says he respects the ISIS leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

>> AL AHMAD: Back in Sana'a, the capital, just a few weeks after the Houthi takeover, the mood has changed.

Their slogans are crossed out everywhere.

There were rumors the Houthis are forming alliances with several tribes and political groups, including the powerful ex-president, Ali Saleh, still one of Yemen's most powerful men.

They are trying to consolidate their control, and that includes the media.

I join a press trip organized by the Houthis.

They say they have uncovered an Al Qaeda bomb factory in Arhab, a village outside Sana'a.

>> AL AHMAD: It's clear that the Houthis want to control the message the press is putting out.

>> AL AHMAD: The Houthi media were also on hand to broadcast the official version.

>> AL AHMAD: The Houthis say they have arrested these three men for running the bomb factory.

>> AL AHMAD: As we leave Arhab we pass through the village of Yahis.

Two boys stop our car.

They want us to film a house they say was demolished by the Houthis.

>> AL AHMAD: The boys weren't sure why the Houthis had targeted their village.

>> AL AHMAD: Meanwhile, in the capital, there is evidence the Houthis are taking over several Sunni mosques and changing their imams.

Outside a mosque in the Saba'a neighborhood, I hear the call to prayer.

It's been changed from the Sunni to the Zaidi one.

Inside the mosque, gunmen were guarding the new Houthi imam, but he was preaching tolerance.

>> AL AHMAD: Some local residents told me the new imam wasn't as popular.

(voice on telephone) Okay, yeah.

We went in search of the ousted Sunni imam, Nabil Iskandar.

He says the Houthis told him to leave the mosque and his home of 14 years.

>> AL AHMAD: I also wanted to talk to the caretaker of the mosque to see how he felt about the change of imam.

But the Houthi gunmen didn't want us to film.

>> AL AHMAD: We tried to interview the caretaker outside the mosque instead.

>> AL AHMAD: But the Houthi gunmen followed us and tried to take our footage.

>> AL AHMAD: We were detained by the Houthis for four hours.

They erased some of our footage.

Local human rights groups say they are becoming more oppressive.

They accuse them of assassinating and torturing opponents.

(car horns honking) I went to look for the family of Wathah Al Hitari, a pharmacist who was shot and killed by a man with known links to the Houthis.

I asked the people in his neighborhood what they thought about him.

>> AL AHMAD: Yassir is Wathah's cousin.

He was one of the first to hear of his death.

>> AL AHMAD: The Houthis have denied responsibility for the murder of Wathah, but they have offered his family what they consider blood money in compensation.

>> AL AHMAD: Wathah's mother refused to accept the money.

>> AL AHMAD: Then I receive some terrible news.

There's been another assassination in Sana'a, but this one is different.

(chanting in background) Dr. Mutawakel was on good terms with most political groups but Al Qaeda are suspected of killing him.

No one has claimed responsibility.

(singing) I had wanted to film with him at the end my visit, to help make sense of the events I've seen unraveling Yemen.

But instead I am filming his funeral.

I asked his daughter Radiya how she felt about her father's death.

>> AL AHMAD: I had watched divisions grow in Yemen.

Before leaving, I wanted to see the few areas left outside Houthi control.

So I headed south.

I arrive in the largest city in the south, Aden.

For years, there has been a popular movement calling for separation from the north, which the government has tried to crush.

There is strong anti-Houthi sentiment everywhere.

Abdulrahman Wajeeh Al Deen is in a dangerous situation.

He is one of the few Houthi journalists operating in the south.

His life is at risk from opponents of the Houthis and Al Qaeda.

>> AL AHMAD: He reveals to me that for months the Houthis have been infiltrating the south.

(voice on megaphone, shouting) >> AL AHMAD: An enormous rally in support of the secession is taking place.

>> AL AHMAD: I have never seen so much anger here.

The rally turns into a march.

Abdulrahman and I follow the crowds as they spill out through the city.

It seems clear to me that across Yemen the political system is collapsing.

>> AL AHMAD: As the sun sets over the streets of Aden, we hear the sound of gunfire.

Government forces are shooting at the protesters.

(explosion) >> AL AHMAD: I had come to Yemen to understand the rise of the Houthis.

Since my journey, they have gone on to seize control of most of Yemen's major cities.

They reached Aden, where the president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, had taken refugee.

He later fled to Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-led coalition has conducted air strikes against Yemen, targeting the Houthis.

And Al Qaeda and ISIS are getting stronger.

The country is being torn apart.

This conflict will not just bring violence and misery to Yemen, it is a threat to U.S. and Western security and to the stability of the whole region.

>> Go to pbs.org/frontline for more from Safa Al Ahmad on the rise of the Houthis.

>> One of the most difficult things about covering the Houthis is that it is a very young movement and very versatile.

So, for example, when they went to Sana'a they made alliances with the socialists, with the Ba'athists, with the Salafis, with the Muslim Brotherhood.

I mean, they are really very tactical.

And what they want is ultimately power.

They don't want to be marginalized anymore.

>> And an interview with former counterterrorism agent Ali Soufan on what it means for America.

>> Yemen is not that far when you think terrorism and when you think threats.

In the United States we need to start thinking that our counterterrorism strategy cannot only focus on drones, on dealing with immediate threats, we have to focus on the incubating factors that's causing terrorism in the first place, creating these vacuums where groups like Al Qaeda or ISIS can operate and create regional and international threats.

>> Follow Frontline on Facebook, Twitter and pbs.org/frontline.

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