[11] The Houthi insurgents pressed their advantage, seizing control of 'Amran in a bloody battle with Islah Party-aligned jihadists loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar[12][13][14] and entering the Sana'a Governorate by July.

[15] In August, the Houthis began holding mass demonstrations in Sana'a, pressuring President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to reverse a cut to fuel subsidies and calling on the government to step down.

[18] Houthi fighters attacked Sana'a in earnest on 19 September, shelling the state television station and clashing with both government forces and Sunni militias[citation needed].

[22] Basindawa criticised Hadi in his resignation, saying "autocratic measures" shut him out of the political process and kept his government "in the dark" with regard to Yemen's deteriorating security situation.

Several Arab publications described the events as "shocking" and suggested they marked a major turning point for the country, which had been labouring through a protracted political crisis since the 2011 uprising that dislodged longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In October, when Hadi moved to appoint his chief of staff, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, as prime minister to replace Basindawa, the Houthis effectively vetoed the choice.

[24] Saleh's party, the General People's Congress, joined the Houthis in announcing an eleventh-hour boycott of the unity government led by Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah in November.

[25] The Houthis continued to apply pressure on the weakened unity government, kidnapping bin Mubarak for several days in January 2015 in an attempt to gain more control over the drafting of a new constitution.