The Libyan Civil War was part of a wave of protests that began in late 2010 and swept across the Arab world of North Africa and the Middle East, referred to as the "Arab Spring". The revolution in Libya turned into an armed conflict and a civil war. That war ended with the capture and killing of Libya’s ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, on 20 October 2011. An artistic lampooning and ridicule of the notorious leader pepper Libya's streets, walls, and ground.