YEAR IN REVIEW 2011: Middle East rises up in the Arab Spring

One of this year’s international highlights is none other than the highly publicized Arab Spring.

The spirit of revolution began in Tunisia. After a month of violent protests, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia.

The wave of uprisings spread to other Middle-Eastern countries following this success. The most prominent and publicized revolts were in

Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen.

Egypt was the second successful revolution, this one being mostly peaceful in nature.

Following weeks of pressure, on February 11, President Hosni Mubarak resigned after 30 years in power. 

On the other hand, Libya and Syria were much deadlier protests. The NATO sponsored Libian uprising ended with President Muammar Gadhafi’s death. Syria’s uprising is ongoing, with President Basha al-Assad still in power. The UN says 5000 people have died so far in the Syrian conflict.