Yemen's Houthi militants are shooting a film in Sana'a to falsely represent Al-Qaeda in another part of the country in a bid by the Houthi militia to show themselves as fighting with Al-Qaeda, instead the government forces, activists have said.
"The terrorist Houthi militia are shooting videos in the valley and mountains of Baqlan somewhere between Bani Matar and Bilad Al-Roos districts [in Sana'a] showing gunmen in Al-Qaeda and ISIS's typical dress with arms in their possession to make it appear like a clip by Al-Qaeda in [the central Yemen province of ] Al Beidha. Please share," said Eslam Al-Azab a pro-government activist in a Facebook post. Other activists posted similar warnings.
"An Indian film is coming soon," Yemeni poet Mohammed Jureid said in a sarcastic post.
Although both sides of the Yemeni war show an interest in linking the other to Al-Qaeda, the Houthi militia show an obsessive interest in the issue.
Yemen's information minister said the Houthi growing propaganda in this regard is trying to mask the real Houthi connection with Al-Qaeda and ISIS, a process being sponsored by Iran.
Muammar Al-Eryani said, "The Houthi militia try to label every oppositionist as affiliated to Al-Qaeda and ISIS. In actuality, the militia, since they seized the capital Sana'a, … have established firm relationship with the other terrorist organizations. The relationship has been marked by cooperation and collusion in various fields."
Al-Eryani cited the militia's "release of 252 prisoners from the Political Security and National Security jails, enabled them to fortify their positions deep in their (Houthi) areas of control and even coordinated with them the battle against the army and popular resistance forces."
