The ousting of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, on February 11th changed the political dynamics in Yemen, with the protests subsequently becoming increasingly spontaneous, and the protesters commonly coalescing around the single demand for Mr Saleh's removal. By mid- to late February, protests were occurring daily and often lasting until late at night. The protests were also growing progressively violent, as the security forces reportedly stood by as regime supporters attacked anti-regime demonstrators. According to Human Rights Watch (a New York-based international rights watchdog), the security forces were also involved in the violence and were initially seen to beat protesters with batons and stun them with Tasers. Journalists and foreign reporters were apparently a specific target, with numerous members of the press reporting either being harassed by security officials or subjected to violence.

Demonstrations were also increasingly in evidence in towns and cities outside Sanaa, with protests reported in Taiz and Hodeida in the north, and in Aden, Zinjibar and Mukalla in the south. In Taiz there were scores of injuries reported after a grenade was set off in a large crowd of protesters, and in Aden the security forces used live ammunition against protesters; in just the three days running up to the February 19th, 16 protesters are believed to have been killed. Subsequently, more deaths were reported at protests in Aden on February 23rd and 24th, while, in Saada in the north, supporters of the Houthi movement (a Zaydi Shia group that has fought an on-off war with the government since mid-2004) took to the streets in solidarity with the anti-government protests elsewhere.