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