A wave of demonstrations and protests has been going on in many Arab countries of the Middle East and Northern Africa since the end of 2010. Revolutions have taken place in Tunisia and Egypt. In both Arab countries leaders had to resign and transfer their power. In Libya a civil war went on for months in an attempt to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi. In many other Arab countries, like Bahrain and Syria there have been uprisingsagainst the government . The protests, which became known as “Arab Spring”, started in Tunisia in December 2010. After the Tunisian president Ben Ali had fled the country Egypt’s population saw that such a rebellion could be successful . After an 18 day protest against long-time President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s president finally resigned and turned power over to the military . In February protests erupted in Libya. Rebels who were against Gaddafi and his regime gathered in Benghazi and created a new government . The Libyan dictator refused to step down and used the air force and army in an all-out civil war against the rebels. A United Nation's resolution gave NATO the authorization to fly over Libya and make sure Gaddafi’s fighter planes do not attack rebels. After months of fighting the Libyan dictator was finally overthrown and killed.
