The Arab Spring was a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on 18 December 2010. Rulers were forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen; civil uprisings erupted in Bahrain and Syria; major protests broke out in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Oman; with minor protests in Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and Western Sahara. Clashes at the borders of Israel in May 2011, as well as protests by Arab minority in Iranian Khuzestan, were also inspired by the regional Arab Spring.