The Middle East 2010-19 - in pictures

End of the decade: From the beginnings of the Arab Spring to a message of tolerance from the papal visit to the UAE, our region in pictures

Tunisian demonstrators clash with the country's security forces on December 23, 2010 in Sidi Bouzid after Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, a fruit and vegetable seller, set himself on fire in a protest. Clashes started after Bouazizi had his produce confiscated by the authorities. His death sparked the Arab uprisings and the fall of Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. AFP

Anti-government protesters celebrate in Cairo's Tahrir Square after the announcement of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's resignation on February 11, 2011. Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

Vehicles belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi explode amid an air strike by coalition forces on March 20, 2011. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

People gather around a statue of former South Sudanese leader John Garang, draped in the national flag of South Sudan, during independence celebrations in Juba on July 9, 2011. David Azia / AP Photo

Supporters of Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, stand on flagpoles as they celebrate his return to the capital, Sanaa, on September 23, 2011. Hani Mohammed / AP Photo

Fighters opposed to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi fire rockets on September 24, 2011. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

Rescuers carry two-week-old baby girl Azra Karaduman from the rubble of a collapsed building in Ercis, in Turkey's eastern province of Van, on October 25, 2011. AFP

Syrian protesters cover their faces against tear gas on December 30, 2011. Reuters

Israeli soldiers fire tear gas at stone throwers in the occupied West Bank demonstrating against an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip on November 18, 2012. Ahmad Gharabli / AFP

Turkish riot police use tear gas on a woman in Taksim Square, Istanbul on May 28, 2013. Osman Orsal / Reuters

ISIS militants - then still aligned with Al Qaeda - carry their weapons during a parade at the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, near the border with Turkey on January 2, 2014. Yaser Al Khodor / Reuters

Smoke rises from Tuffah neighbourhood from Israeli air strikes in the east of Gaza City on July 29, 2014 - about three weeks into the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. EPA

A Syrian refugee girl stands behind a door in a makeshift settlement in the village of Ketermaya, south of Beirut on January 8, 2015. Ali Hashisho / Reuters

Mourners carry the body of King Abdullah during his funeral at Riyadh's Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque on January 23, 2015. SPA / AFP

Syrians fleeing the war rush through broken border fences to enter Turkish territory at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province on June 14, 2015. Bulent Kilic / AFP

UAE and Saudi flags fly from a tank as Emirati troops take part in military operations against Houthi rebels near Aden, Yemen on August 8, 2015. EPA

A Palestinian boy sleeps on a mattress inside the remains of his family's house in Gaza on September 8, 2015. Witnesses said the home was destroyed by Israeli shelling. Reuters

A Syrian man fleeing the war waits behind a border fence to cross into Turkey on June 15, 2015. Umit Bektas / Reuters

Syrian soldiers stand on the ruins of the Temple of Bel in the historic city of Palmyra on April 1, 2016. Fakhreddin Castle is seen in the background. Omar Sanadiki / Reuters

Turkish soldiers clutch their weapons in Istanbul's Taksim Square as people protest against a failed military coup on July 16, 2016. Ozan Kose / AFP

A displaced Iraqi boy leads his animals to safety after escaping from the ISIS-controlled village of Abu Jarboa near Mosul on November 1, 2016. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

A man cries as he carries his daughter while walking from an ISIS-controlled part of Mosul towards Iraqi special forces during a battle in Mosul on March 4, 2017. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

From right, US President Donald Trump, his wife Melania, Saudi monarch King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi put their hands on an illuminated globe during the inauguration ceremony of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. Getty

A police officer dangles a child from a window after gunmen attacked Iran's parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini in the capital Tehran on June 7, 2017. Omid Vahabzadeh / Getty Images

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sits as royal family members and other official pledge allegiance to him, at the Royal Palace in Makkah. SPA / AFP

Displaced Iraqis walk past the destroyed Al Nuri Mosque in the Old City of Mosul, as Iraqi government forces continue their offensive to retake the city from ISIS on June 30, 2017. Ahmad Al Rubaye / AFP

Mohammed Mohiedin Anis, 70, smokes his pipe and listens to music in his destroyed bedroom in Aleppo's formerly rebel-held Al Shaar neighbourhood. Joseph Eid / AFP

A Syria Civil Defence member carries a wounded child in the besieged town of Hamoria, eastern Ghouta, Damascus, January 6, 2018. Bassam Khabieh / Reuters

A child sleeps in a bag in the village of Beit Sawa, eastern Ghouta, Syria, March 15, 2018. Omar Sanadiki / Reuters

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and the US president's daughter Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. Menahem Kahana / AFP

Saudis gather at a cinema in Riyadh Park Mall after its opening to the general public on April 30, 2018. Fayez Nureldine / AFP

Saudi woman Majdoleen Mohammed Alateeq drives her car in Riyadh on June 24, 2018. Fayez Nureldine / AFP

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki embrace after signing a peace agreement on July 9, 2018. Ghideon Musa Aron Visafric via Reuters

Palestinians throw stones and burn tyres in Gaza City on October 22, 2018. Getty Images

Yemen's Foreign Minister Khaled Al Yamani, left, and the Houthis' head negotiator Mohammed Abdelsalam shake hands under the gaze of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during peace consultations in Rimbo, north of Stockholm, Sweden. Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, receives Pope Francis at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, watches Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Pope Francis and Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, sign a commemorative stone at the Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi. Hamad Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Pope Francis blesses a child before celebrating Mass at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Reuters

This screengrab taken on April 2, 2019, from Ennahar TV shows Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, centre, giving his resignation letter to the Constitutional Council's president in Algiers. AFP

Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame after clips of her leading powerful protest chants against president Omar Al Bashir went viral, addresses demonstrators in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 10, 2019. AFP

A woman raises a Jordanian flag as she stands amid public-school teachers demonstrating and demanding pay raises in Amman on October 3, 2019. Khalil Mazraawi / AFP

Lebanese protesters light up their phones as they gather at Martyrs' Square during ongoing anti-government protests in Beirut on November 3, 2019. Wael Hamzeh / EPA

The National

Read more from the decade that was the 2010s:

How the UAE has emerged on the global stage in the past decade

Middle East is 'the canary in the coal mine' of climate change

A decade of health advances: the victories and defeats in the war on disease

The age of the outsiders - and why they prefer the campaign trail to governing

China has finally shed its inhibitions – now it should lead Asia

Macedonian town oils wheels of fake news machine before US polls

In a changing world, humanitarianism needs to be smarter and more innovative than ever

Thanks to 5G, this is the decade we graduate from the smartphone

Updated: December 29, 2019, 5:19 AM