Arab Spring Protests Begin

The Arab Spring was a series of pro-democracy anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s.^¹ It began in Tunisia in response to the death of Mohamed Bouazizi by self-immolation.^¹ From Tunisia, the protests initially spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain.^¹ The rulers deposed include: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, all in 2011; and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen in 2012.^¹ Major uprisings and social violence occurred, including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies.^¹ Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan.^¹ Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Western Sahara.^¹ A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām!.^¹