MAP: Protests spread in Middle East

Since mid-January, North Africa and the Middle East have been gripped by revolutionary fever. 

Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stepped down on Jan. 14 following a month of violent demonstrations over worsening economic conditions, corruption and political repression. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak followed suit on Feb. 11, after more than two weeks of protests. And the uprisings have spread from there.

Protests in Libya have transcended into a series of bloody conflicts. Rebel forces have been fighting to wrest control of the country away from Col. Moammar Gadhafi, who has ruled the North African nation for over 40 years. The UN has approved a no-fly zone over much of Libya, which is being enforced by several Western countries as well as members of the Arab League.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh had to leave the country for medical treatment after he was wounded in an attack on his compound in Sanaa on June 3. Vice-President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi took over as temporary head of state as former tribal allies of Saleh turned against him and fighting in the country intensified.

If there is a starting point to all this anti-government action, it was when a Tunisian fruit vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in early January after police seized his goods. He later died. Bouazizi's act has touched off a wave of demonstrations in the region against autocratic governments, high food prices and unemployment.

The map has updated news about the protests and uprisings in each region.