Arab Spring. Middle East protests: Country by country - Libya. Libya's uprising began in February 2011 after security forces in the eastern city of Benghazi opened fire on a protest.
Anti-government demonstrations then erupted in other towns before eventually reaching Tripoli. They swiftly evolved into an armed revolt seeking to topple to Muammar Gaddafi. In March 2011, after the UN Security Council authorised "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, Nato powers launched air strikes on government targets, ostensibly aimed at imposing a no-fly zone. With military assistance from the West and several Arab states, rebel forces took Tripoli after six months of fighting in which several thousand people were killed.
Demystifying the Arab Spring. In Tunisia, protesters escalated calls for the restoration of the country's suspended constitution.
Meanwhile, Egyptians rose in revolt as strikes across the country brought daily life to a halt and toppled the government. In Libya, provincial leaders worked feverishly to strengthen their newly independent republic. It was 1919. That year's events demonstrate that the global diffusion of information and expectations -- so vividly on display in Tahrir Square this past winter -- is not a result of the Internet and social media. The inspirational rhetoric of U.S.