BACKGROUND: Wave of protests in Arab world - an overview

Feb 2, 2011, 13:49 GMT

Berlin/Paris - A wave of unrest is sweeping through parts of the Middle East and North Africa, largely organized by young people and leading to unprecedented protests as citizens demand the ouster of authoritarian regimes, economic and political reforms, jobs and a higher standard of living. An overview of the situation in each country:

TUNISIA: The country in which it all began - after Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest high unemployment, which triggered mass demonstrations in mid-January that led to the ouster of president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. A government of national unity has been appointed to manage Tunisia's transition from a police state to a democracy. Its main task is to organize presidential and parliamentary elections by mid-July.

EGYPT: President Hosny Mubarak said he would step down in September, at the end of his term in office, but defied demands by the largest protests in over a generation for his immediate resignation. The protesters want Mubarak, who has ruled for nearly 30 years, to leave immediately. Egypt remains on edge with clashes between the demonstrators and government supporters.

YEMEN: President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he will not seek another term in office and has called for the opposition to join him in a national unity alliance. His announcement came as large opposition demonstrations were planned in capital Sana'a for Thursday as part of a 'Day of Rage,' and was made just hours after Egypt's Mubarak also said he would not seek re-election. Saleh has ruled the impoverished country, which is struggling to contain uprisings in the south and north, since 1978.

JORDAN: King Abdullah has asked former premier Marouf Bakhit to form a new government, after incumbent prime minister Samir Rifai and his government resigned Tuesday in the wake of largescale protests. Jordan, which borders Iraq, Syria, Israel and Saudi Arabia, has been racked by three weeks of demonstrations, similar to those first in Tunisia and next Egypt.

SYRIA: The opposition plans to hold a demonstration over the weekend in support of the Egyptian pro-democracy activists, as well as to protest poverty, oppression and government corruption in Syria. President Bashar al-Assad, who took over from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000, promised in an interview this week to speed up political reforms.

LEBANON: The militant Shiite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, brought down the government in mid-January when they and their allies walked out of a coalition government. Protests followed the appointment of the Hezbollah-backed candidate Najib Mikati as Lebanon's new prime minister.

ALGERIA: A sharp rise in food prices was the catalyst for the unrest in Algeria. As in Tunisia and Egypt, the protests have been marked by people setting themselves on fire in an attempt to draw attention to their plight. Massive strikes have been announced over the next few days.

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