Film backdrop image for Yemen: A Failed State (2014)

201416 minPGcurrent-affairs

Conflict Terrorism Geopolitics

Yemen: A Failed State

201416 minPGcurrent-affairs

Yemen's embattled government struggles with sectarian rivalries and al Qaeda's influence.

Conflict Terrorism Geopolitics

Genres

Channel: VICE News

Yemen: A Failed State

2014• 16 minPG

Synopsis

Yemen's embattled government struggles with sectarian rivalries and al Qaeda's influence.

Synopsis

The new embattled government in Yemen struggles to cope with numerous challenges, including sectarian rivalries and CIA drone strikes. This government faces the threat of al Qaeda's sophisticated branch, risking the failure of one of the world's most fragile states. VICE News visits dangerous areas in Yemen, highlighting the national Army in the lawless East, the Houthis in Sana'a, and the Popular Committee in the South. The documentary sheds light on the complexities of governance in a country marked by violence and instability.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

The Yemen Option - Yemen (2008)

The Yemen Option - Yemen

60 million firearms are distributed across Yemen, a country of only 20 million people, complicating efforts to combat terrorism.

The Yemen Option - Yemen

Mali is Under Threat From Al Qaeda (2012)

Mali is Under Threat From Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda's harsh rule in Northern Mali causes a food crisis and mass exodus of refugees.

Mali is Under Threat From Al Qaeda

Oil, Famine and Genocide - Inside Yemen's Forgotten War (2025)

Oil, Famine and Genocide - Inside Yemen's Forgotten War

Yemen’s Dirty War highlights the humanitarian crisis affecting 21 million people since 2015.

Oil, Famine and Genocide - Inside Yemen's Forgotten War

Al-Qaeda Hospital Massacre In Yemen (2014)

Al-Qaeda Hospital Massacre In Yemen

Al-Qaeda attacks a hospital in Yemen, killing 52 civilians in a failed operation.

Al-Qaeda Hospital Massacre In Yemen

Somalia On The Brink - Living With Terror And Violence (2023)

Somalia On The Brink - Living With Terror And Violence

Twelve people died and around thirty were injured in a car bomb attack in Mogadishu, a city plagued by almost daily violence.

Somalia On The Brink - Living With Terror And Violence

Dirty War in Yemen: 7 Years of Cruelty, Famine and Suffering (2023)

Dirty War in Yemen: 7 Years of Cruelty, Famine and Suffering

Yemen suffers after seven years of war, with 21 million people affected by the Houthis' control.

Dirty War in Yemen: 7 Years of Cruelty, Famine and Suffering

Houthi Rebels in Yemen: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? (2025)

Houthi Rebels in Yemen: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

In Yemen, the Houthi rebels engage in conflict over control and disrupt global trade, raising questions about their identity as terrorists or freedom fighters.

Houthi Rebels in Yemen: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

How Oct. 7 Changed Everything (2024)

How Oct. 7 Changed Everything

At least 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, amid Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

How Oct. 7 Changed Everything

The Dangerous Rise of Israeli Ultra-Nationalists (2023)

The Dangerous Rise of Israeli Ultra-Nationalists

80 Palestinians and 14 Israelis were killed in the first three months of 2023 amid escalating violence and political turmoil in Israel.

The Dangerous Rise of Israeli Ultra-Nationalists

Chad's Fight Against Boko Haram (2015)

Chad's Fight Against Boko Haram

Boko Haram attacks Northern Nigeria and Chad, causing destruction and civilian casualties.

Chad's Fight Against Boko Haram

Framed for a murder for whistle blowing - True Story Documentary Channel (2022)

Framed for a murder for whistle blowing - True Story Documentary Channel

Colin Wallace, a former Military Intelligence Officer in Northern Ireland, was framed for murder after exposing fake news and psychological operations within the intelligence community.

Framed for a murder for whistle blowing - True Story Documentary Channel

The German Princess Who Staged A Coup D'état For The Russian Throne (2026)

The German Princess Who Staged A Coup D'état For The Russian Throne

Catherine the Great, born Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst, orchestrated a coup d'état to become Empress of Russia after a tumultuous marriage.

The German Princess Who Staged A Coup D'état For The Russian Throne

Explore Yemen: A Failed State

Where else to watch

Somalia: A Country in Free Fall (2019)

Somalia: A Country in Free Fall

2019•52m•★7.0TMDB

Since the civil war began in 1991, Somalia has lacked a functioning government, leading to widespread lawlessness and a severe humanitarian crisis.

Somalia: A Country in Free Fall

Hunger Ward (2020)

Hunger Ward

2020•40m•★7.3TMDB

Two healthcare workers in Yemen treat malnourished children at therapeutic feeding centers amid a severe famine affecting millions.

Yemen's Reluctant Revolutionary (2012)

Yemen's Reluctant Revolutionary

2012•1h10m•★7.7TMDB

Filmed over the course of a year, a tour guide in Sana'a shifts from supporting the President to joining protests amid Yemen's revolution.

Yemen's Reluctant Revolutionary

Path of Blood (2018)

Path of Blood

2018•1h32m•★6.5TMDB

27 people were killed and over 200 wounded in a series of bombings by Al Qaeda in Riyadh on May 12, 2003, marking the start of a violent campaign.

Merkel (2022)

Merkel

2022•1h37m•★7.0TMDB

16 years of Angela Merkel's leadership as Chancellor of Germany saw her address major issues like the European debt crisis and climate change.

Browse more like this

Oil, Famine and Genocide - Inside Yemen's Forgotten War (2025)

Oil, Famine and Genocide - Inside Yemen's Forgotten War

Yemen’s Dirty War highlights the humanitarian crisis affecting 21 million people since 2015.

Oil, Famine and Genocide - Inside Yemen's Forgotten War

No digital watch option in your country

Dirty War in Yemen: 7 Years of Cruelty, Famine and Suffering (2023)

Dirty War in Yemen: 7 Years of Cruelty, Famine and Suffering

Yemen suffers after seven years of war, with 21 million people affected by the Houthis' control.

Dirty War in Yemen: 7 Years of Cruelty, Famine and Suffering

No digital watch option in your country

Houthi Rebels in Yemen: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? (2025)

Houthi Rebels in Yemen: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

In Yemen, the Houthi rebels engage in conflict over control and disrupt global trade, raising questions about their identity as terrorists or freedom fighters.

Houthi Rebels in Yemen: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

No digital watch option in your country

The German Princess Who Staged A Coup D'état For The Russian Throne (2026)

The German Princess Who Staged A Coup D'état For The Russian Throne

Catherine the Great, born Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst, orchestrated a coup d'état to become Empress of Russia after a tumultuous marriage.

The German Princess Who Staged A Coup D'état For The Russian Throne

No digital watch option in your country

The Walls of Sana'a (1974)

The Walls of Sana'a

1974•16m•★6.2TMDB

Director Pasolini pledges to UNESCO for the recognition of Sana'a as a World Heritage Site to protect its medieval architecture from modernization.

The Walls of Sana'a

The English Sheik and the Yemeni Gentleman (2000)

The English Sheik and the Yemeni Gentleman

2000•1h16m•★8.0TMDB

An Englishman has lived as a Yemeni in Sana'a for 16 years while a British filmmaker tours his ancestral homeland.

The English Sheik and the Yemeni Gentleman

Al Qaeda in Yemen (2012)

Al Qaeda in Yemen

Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Yemen has become a key battleground in the fight against Al Qaeda, with militants gaining control in the south.

Al Qaeda in Yemen

Big Brother: A World Under Surveillance (2020)

Big Brother: A World Under Surveillance

2020•1h30m•★7.8TMDB

Over 1 billion surveillance cameras are now in use worldwide, raising concerns about privacy and personal freedoms in the name of security.

Big Brother: A World Under Surveillance

Gaza: The Killing Zone (2003)

Gaza: The Killing Zone

Daily violence in the Gaza Strip escalates as Dispatches reporter Sandra Jordan and producer Rodrigo Vasquez document the dangerous conditions on the ground.

Gaza: The Killing Zone

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains (2000)

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains

2000•1h12m•★6.5TMDB

Seventy-two minutes of footage show how Kurdish identities change based on different perspectives in conflict-ridden Iraq.

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains

I Stand: The Guardians of the Water (2017)

I Stand: The Guardians of the Water

2017•58m•★5.2TMDB

In 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Nation led a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, advocating for indigenous rights and environmental safety.

I Stand: The Guardians of the Water

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →