Timeline of the Arab Spring
Overview diagram
Timeline of the Arab Spring and its aftermath, along with concurrent events in the region.
2010
December
Protests arose in Tunisia following Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation. There were also significant protests in Algeria.
2011
January
Protests arose in Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Syria, & Morocco. The government was overthrown in Tunisia on 14 January 2011. On 25 January 2011, thousands of protesters in Egypt gathered in Tahrir Square, in Cairo. They demanded the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. On 15 March, protests began in Syria.
February
On February 11, the President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak resigned, and transferred his powers to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
On February 15 protests broke out against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Benghazi, Libya, starting the uprising that would soon turn into the Libyan Civil War.
March
On 3 March, the former Prime Minister of Egypt, Ahmed Shafik, also resigned, after protests.
June
On 3 June, the President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh was injured in a failed assassination attempt. He temporarily made his Vice President, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi, the Acting President of the nation.
August
Between 20 and 28 August, the Battle of Tripoli, occurred, in Libya. Rebel forces captured, and effectively gained control of, the capital city of Tripoli, therefore practically overthrowing the government of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
October
On 9 and 10 October, Coptic Christians in Egypt protested against the destruction of a church. The Army responded by attacking the protesters with tanks, killing many. On 20 October, Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed, by rebels, in the city of Sirte. On 23 October, the National Transitional Council (NTC) officially declared an end to the 2011 Libyan Civil War.
November
On the 19th of November, Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, was finally captured, after hiding in Nigeria. Between the 19th and 21st of November, many people once again protested in Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding that the SCAF speed up the transition to a more civilian government. Clashes between protesters and soldiers then proceeded to happen, and many people were injured or killed.
December
On 20 December, many women protested in Egypt against human rights violations.
2012
January
On 10 January, the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, gave a speech, in which he blamed the uprising on foreigners, and said that it would require the co-operation of all Syrians, in order to stop the rebels. On 24 January, the Egyptian Field Marshal and leader of the military, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, announced that the decades-old state of emergency would be partially lifted, the following day.
February
Starting on 3 February, the Syrian government began an attack on the city of Homs. On 27 February, the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, officially resigned, and then transferred his powers to his Vice President, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi.
April
On 20 April, many people once again protested in Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding a quicker transfer of power to a new President.
May
On 23 & 24 May, the Egyptian people voted in the first round of a presidential election. Ahmed Shafik and Mohammed Morsi were the two winners, of this election. On 25 May, the Syrian government carried out a massacre in Houla, killing a very large number of people.
June
On 2 June, the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison, by an Egyptian court. On 13 June, the former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was sentenced to prison, by a Tunisian court. On 16 & 17 June, the Egyptian people voted in the 2nd round of a presidential run-off election, in which Mohammed Morsi received the most votes.
On June 24, 2012, Egypt's election commission announced that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi has won Egypt's presidential runoff. Morsi won by a narrow margin over Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak. The commission said Morsi took 51.7 percent of the vote versus 48.3 for Shafiq.
July
On 12 July, the Syrian army carried out a massacre in the Village of Tremseh. Up to 225 people were killed. On 15 July, the International Committee of the Red Cross officially declared that the Syrian uprising was now a civil war. On 18 July, a bombing in Damascus killed many members of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, including his brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat. On 19 July, the former Vice President of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, died of a heart attack at a hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
Starting on 27 July, government forces and rebels began fighting a battle to capture Syria's largest city, Aleppo. The UN reports that over 200,000 Syrian refugees have now fled the country, ever since the fighting began.
September
In late September, the Free Syrian Army moved its command headquarters from southern Turkey into rebel-controlled areas of northern Syria.[1]
September 11, 2012, Islamic militants attacked the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, in Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer.
October
On 9 October, the Free Syrian Army seized control of Maarat al-Numan, a strategic town in Idlib Governorate on the highway linking Damascus with Aleppo.[2] By 18 October, the FSA had captured the suburb of Douma, the biggest suburb of Damascus.[3]
On 19 October, Wissam al-Hassan, a brigadier general of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF), died along with several others in the 2012 Beirut bombing.
November
On 22 November 2012[4] Egyptian protests started, with hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrating against Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, after he granted himself unlimited powers to “protect” the nation,[5][6] and the power to legislate without judicial oversight or review of his acts.[7]
2013
January
On 25 January, massive protests against Mohamed Morsi developed all over Egypt on the second anniversary of the 2011 revolution, including in Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters gathered. At least 6 civilians and 1 police officer were shot dead in the Egyptian city of Suez, while 456 others were injured nationwide.[8][9][10]
February
In early February, Syrian rebels began an offensive on Damascus. On 12 February 2013, the United Nations stated that the death toll of the Syrian civil war had exceeded 70,000.[11]
March
On March 6, Syrian rebels captured Ar-Raqqah, the first major city to be under rebel control in the Syrian civil war.[12] Meanwhile, the Syrian National Coalition was granted Syria's membership in the Arab League.[13][14]
April
On 24 April, the minaret of the Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria, built in 1090,[15] was destroyed during an exchange of heavy weapons fire between government forces and rebels.[16][17][18]
June
On June 5, Syrian government forces retook the strategic town of Al-Qusayr.[19]
July
Mohamed Morsi is deposed as President of Egypt in a coup d'état, followed by clashes between security forces and protestors.
August
In the Ghouta chemical attack on 21 August 2013, several areas that were disputed or controlled by the Syrian opposition were struck by rockets containing the chemical agent sarin. Estimates of the death toll range from 'at least 281'[20] to 1,729 fatalities.[21]
2014
January
February
- Egyptian government resigns, paving way for military chief Sisi to run for president.
May
- Syrian rebels withdraw from the siege of Homs.[22]
By country or region
- Timeline of the 2011–present Egyptian civil unrest
- Timeline of the Bahraini uprising (2011–present)
- Timeline of the Syrian Civil War
- Timeline of the Yemeni Revolution
- Timeline of the Libyan Civil War
- Timeline of the 2011–13 Saudi Arabian protests
See also
References
- ↑ "Rebel Group Says It Is Now Based in Syria, a Major Step". New York Times. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ↑ "Syrian rebels claim control of strategic town". Al Jazeera. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ↑ Di Giovanni, JANINE (18 October 2012). "Denial Is Slipping Away as War Arrives in Damascus". New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ↑ McCrumen, Stephanie; Hauslohner, Abigail (5 December 2012). "Egyptians take anti-Morsi protests to presidential palace". The Independent. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ↑ Hendawi, Hamza (28 November 2012). "Egyptian courts suspend work to protest Morsi decrees". Salon. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ↑ Dina Bishara (28 November 2012). "Egyptian Labor between Morsi and Mubarak". Mideast. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ↑ David D. Kirkpatrick (26 April 2012). "President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt Said to Prepare Martial Law Decree". Egypt: The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ↑ "(CBS)". 25 January 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ↑ (USA Today)
- ↑ (Reuters) (BBC)
- ↑ "Syria death toll probably at 70,000, U.N. human rights official says". CNN. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ↑ "(Fox News)". Fox News. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ↑ Washington Post
- ↑ "Associated Press". The Big Story. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ↑ George Mitchell, ed. (1978). Architecture of the Islamic World. Thames and Hudson. page 231.
- ↑ "Syria clashes destroy ancient Aleppo minaret". bbc.co.uk. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ↑ Minaret of historic Syrian mosque destroyed in Aleppo. The Guardian. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ Saad, Hwaida; Gladstone, Rick (24 April 2013). "Storied Syrian Mosque's Minaret Is Destroyed". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ↑ "Syrian army retakes key town of Qusair from rebels". BBC. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ↑ "France says 'at least 281' killed in Syria chemical attack". The Daily Star. Lebanon. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ↑ "Bodies still being found after alleged Syria chemical attack: opposition". The Daily Star. Lebanon. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
- ↑ Syria conflict: Rebels evacuated from Old City of Homs (BBC). 7 May 2014
