Syrian civil war
The Syrian uprising that followed was part of the Arab spring. In other Arab countries before 2011, discontent was also rising about the current political and economic environment. In December 2010, a Tunisian man named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after being repeatedly mistreated by government officials. This led to considerable civil unrest in the country and eventually to mass demonstrations. The Tunisian president, Ben Ali, eventually resigned and fled. Surrounding Arab countries followed and in many countries, the people started demonstrating, demanding political change. It did not take long for the Syrian people to follow these examples.