Nasser. Some activists have claimed that "[i]t is time—long past overdue—to confront the racist arabization of the Amazigh lands." The Black Spring was a series of violent disturbances and political demonstrations by Kabyle activists in the Kabylie region of Algeria in 2001. In the 2011 Libyan civil war, Berbers in the Nafusa Mountains were quick to revolt against the Gaddafi regime. The mountains became a stronghold of the rebel movement, and were a focal point of the conflict, with much fighting occurring between rebels and loyalists for control of the region. The Tuareg Rebellion of 2012 was waged against the Malian government by rebels with the goal of attaining independence for the northern region of Mali, known as Azawad. Since late 2016, massive riots have spread across Moroccan Berber communities in the Rif region. Another escalation took place in May 2017. In Morocco, after the constitutional reforms of 2011, Berber has become an official language, and is now taught as a compulsory language in all schools regardless of the area or the ethnicity. In 2016, Algeria followed suit and changed the status of Berber from "national" to "official" language. Although Berberists who openly show their political orientations rarely reach high positions, Berbers have reached high positions in the social and political hierarchies across the Maghreb. Examples are the former president of Algeria, Liamine Zeroual; the former prime minister of Morocco, Driss Jettou; and Khalida Toumi, a feminist and Berberist militant, who has been nominated as head of the Ministry of Communication in Algeria. Contemporary demographics The Maghreb today is home to large Berber populations, who form the principal indigenous ancestry in the region (see Origins). The Semitic ethnic presence in the region is mainly due to the migratory movements of Phoenicians, Jews, and Arab Bedouin Hilallianss in the 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD. The large Berber populations that speak a Berber language in the Maghreb comprise 30% to 40% of the Moroccan population, and 15% to 35% of the Algerian population, with smaller communities in Libya and Tunisia and very small groups in Egypt and Mauritania. Prominent Berber groups include the Kabyles—from Kabylia, a historical autonomous region of northern Algeria—who number about six million and have kept, to a large degree, their original language and society; and the Shilha or Chleuh —in High and Anti-Atlas and Sous Valley of Morocco—who number about eight million. Other groups include