The fate of other leaders swept up by the Arab Spring uprising:

- TUNISIA: Zine el Abidine

Ben Ali

The former Tunisian leader fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, 2011, after a monthlong uprising that sparked the larger Arab Spring. Ben Ali has been convicted in absentia by a Tunisian court for corruption and other crimes during his 23-year authoritarian rule.

- LIBYA: Moammar Khadafy

After leading Libya for four decades, Khadafy spent the final weeks of his life shuttling from hideout to hideout in his hometown of Surt until rebel fighters captured and killed him in October.

- YEMEN: Ali Abdullah Saleh

The Yemeni president clung to power for nearly a year in the face of mass protests against his rule, staying in place even after a bomb blast in June injured him. Under a US- and Gulf-brokered agreement, Saleh handed over power to his vice president, who this year was elected president. But Saleh remains in Yemen and at the head of his party, and his relatives and loyalists still hold powerful positions in the military, security forces, and government.

- SYRIA: Bashar Assad

Assad is holding on to power, despite a 15-month-old uprising against his rule that is near civil war. Activists say at least 13,000 people have been killed. Assad’s forces unleashed a crackdown against a revolt that began with peaceful protests, prompting many of the regime’s opponents - joined by army defectors - to take up arms against the government. The military has responded with all-out assaults on opposition areas, leaving mass destruction in some cities.

SOURCE: Associated Press