2003

Feb - Two rebel groups rise up and attack government military installations, saying Khartoum neglects arid region and arms Arab militia against civilians

2004

Apr - U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland says scorched-earth tactics trigger "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises"

Government, Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels agree 45-day ceasefire

May - U.N. human rights report says Sudanese troops and militia may be guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity

Government, rebels agree to African, EU ceasefire monitors

International donors conference seeks $236 million

Jun - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir orders all groups in Darfur to be disarmed

Oct - Rwandan troops join Nigerian soldiers monitoring shaky ceasefire

Nov - Sudan signs two peace deals with rebels, banning military flights over Darfur and covering security and humanitarian access

Sudan says it has lifted all restrictions on aid workers and revoked a state of emergency in North Darfur state

Dec - Sudan agrees to stop military operations in Darfur and asks AU to request rebels do same

Dec 21 - Save the Children pulls staff out of Darfur after four killed

2005

Mar - Sudan says has arrested military and security officials accused of rape, killing and burning villages

U.S. abstains as U.N. votes to refer war crimes suspects in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. ICC launches formal investigations in June

May - Donors pledge nearly $300 million to fund a bigger AU force

2006

Mar - Thousands protest in Khartoum against any deployment of U.N. troops to Darfur

Apr - Chad breaks off diplomatic relations, accusing Sudan of backing insurgents trying to overthrow Chad's president

U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions on four Sudanese accused of abuses in Darfur

May - Sudan and an SLA faction sign peace deal. SLA rival faction and JEM reject deal

AU interpreter killed and Oxfam worker stabbed in demonstrations at camps in Darfur over peace accords and lack of protection

Jul - New SLA faction emerges. Chad starts trying to mend diplomatic relations with Khartoum. Relief International aid worker killed

Oct - U.N. Sudan mission head Jan Pronk expelled after saying army has suffered two major defeats at hands of rebels

Nov - U.N. says Sudan accepts the principle of allowing U.N. troops

Norwegian Refugee Council closes its Darfur operation, citing Sudanese government obstruction

Chad's prime minister calls for a "general mobilisation" to counter what he says are Sudanese military attacks in eastern Chad

Dec - President Bashir endorses a three-step U.N. proposal to strengthen AU force with small number of U.N. troops and police

Two major attacks targeted at aid agency compounds force hundreds of relief workers to relocate temporarily

2007

Jan - Sudanese Air Force bombs two villages in north Darfur, disrupting plans for a meeting of rebel commanders to provide impetus for renewed dialogue

European Union threatens Sudan with sanctions if it refuses to allow U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur

Darfur police and security officials arrest 20 U.N., AU and aid workers at a social gathering. Five are beaten with rifles, and one accuses police of sexual assault

Feb - ICC chief prosecutor names Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister and a militia commander as first suspects he wants tried for war crimes

Mar - U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes, on his first trip to Darfur, is barred from visiting a camp

SLM warns its peace agreement with the government is in danger of collapsing following clashes

Sudan signs agreement with U.N. pledging to give humanitarian groups better access in Darfur

U.S. threatens new sanctions on Khartoum but later agrees to hold off to give U.N. time to negotiate

Apr - Khartoum agrees to let 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur. Several aid agencies, including Oxfam, Save the Children Spain and Mercy Corps, temporarily suspend work in western Darfur because of violence

May - Sudan and Chad sign reconciliation deal. Washington tightens sanctions

Jul - Five rebel groups, including two SLA factions, unite to form the United Front for Liberation and Development (UFLD) ahead of possible peace talks

U.N. Security Council authorises up to 26,000 troops and police for a "hybrid" U.N.-African Union operation in Darfur and approves the use of force to protect civilians

Sept - AU soldiers killed after armed men launch an assault on the AU's Haskanita base in Darfur. The base is destroyed

Oct - Armed groups raze government-held Haskanita town. Rebels say attack was carried out by government forces and militia groups

Rebels say government troops and allied militia attack Muhajiriya, a town controlled by the SLA. Government forces deny attack

Armed men kill three World Food Programme drivers in South Darfur

Government-backed militias attack Kalma refugee camp, South Dafur

Government forces attack Hamidiya refugee camp, West Darfur

JEM claims it has attacked Sudan's Defra oil field in Kordofan, killing 20 government soldiers and taking two foreign hostages. It threatens more assaults on oil installations

Libya hosts peace talks between Khartoum, pro-government Arab militias and rebel forces. But key rebel factions stay away

2008

Jan - U.N.-AU peacekeeping force takes over from overstretched AU mission

Jan and Feb - Sudanese air and ground assaults near Chad border. U.N. report says 115 people killed and 30,000 driven from homes. It accuses army of raping and looting. Chad threatens to expel any more refugees arriving from Darfur

Mar - Sudan and Chad presidents sign non-aggression deal in effort to end cross-border rebel attacks

Apr - U.N. raises Darfur death toll estimate to 300,000 in five years, against previous estimate of 200,000. Khartoum gives figure of 10,000

Jul - ICC chief prosecutor charges Sudan's president with masterminding genocide campaign, killing 35,000 people and persecuting 2.5 million. Khartoum dismisses charges

Bashir makes rare visit to Darfur

Aug - Bashir says he'll ask peacekeepers to leave if ICC issues warrant

Oct - Bashir launches national initiative for peace with a forum to discuss the conflict. Rebel groups refuse to attend

Nov - Bashir announces ceasefire

2009

Feb - JEM and Khartoum sign goodwill agreement paving the way for peace talks. The agreement stops short of a ceasefire, and hostilities between the two sides continue

Mar - International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Bashir over war crimes in Darfur. Government expels 13 foreign aid groups from Sudan, and closes three local aid agencies in Darfur. The expulsion threatens aid programmes in south and east Sudan, as well as Darfur