Arab Spring Uprisings Begin in Tunisia

On 17 December 2010 CE, Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, set himself on fire after officials confiscated his cart. He died on 4 January 2011, and protests spread quickly. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on 14 January 2011. Protests spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and other countries in the following months, with very different outcomes.