1913 - France colonises Chad, absorbing it into French Equatorial Africa

1960 - Independence. Francois Tombalbaye, a Christian southerner, becomes president

1963 - Political parties banned, triggering an Islamic insurgency in the north under Frolinat, the Chadian National Liberation Front

1966 - Insurgency develops into a guerrilla war

1973 - France begins military aid to Tombalbye's forces while a severe drought hits Chad

1970s/1980s - Libya and France back opposing sides in a protracted civil war

1975 - Another Christian southerner, Felix Malloum, takes power after Tombalbaye is killed in a coup

1975 - Libya invades northern Chad, occupying the Aouzou strip

1979 - Libyan-backed Muslim northerner Goukouni Oueddei takes power in a coalition government

1980 - Libya supports Oueddei in his fight against an insurgency led by Hissan Habre, another Muslim northerner

1982 - Successful Hissan Habre coup launched from a rebel base in Darfur

1987 - Libyan troops retreat to the Aouzou strip after pressure from Habre and rebel groups

1990 - Habre overthrown by Idriss Deby, also using a rebel base in Darfur

1996 - Deby wins Chad's first multi-party elections

1998 - Deby's former defence chief Youssouf Togoimi begins insurgency in the north

2001 - Deby wins a second election but a quarter of ballots are cancelled due to "irregularities"

2003 - Chad begins exporting oil from large reserves in the south

2004 - Hundreds of thousands for refugees arrive in eastern Chad from Sudan's Darfur region Arab militias from Darfur, backed by Sudan, clash with Chadian soldiers

Deby survives a coup attempt as dissent mounts over his Darfur non-interference policy

2005

Dec - Deby lobbies African Union to condemn Khartoum for supporting rebels trying to overthrow him. Sudan accuses Chad of backing Darfur rebels. Anti-Deby Chad rebels announce a military alliance, the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC)

2006

Feb - Chad and Sudan agree to end stand-off at the end of a mini-summit hosted by Libya

Mar - Chad says it has foiled a coup attempt by soldiers who planned to shoot down Deby's plane. Government troops launch a military offensive against rebels in the east

Apr - Government forces fight off rebels who reach the capital N'Djamena, about 100 people killed and 200 wounded in the attack

Deby breaks diplomatic relations with Sudan. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns fighting in Chad could have a domino effect in the region

May - Presidential elections, opposition parties boycott it, Deby wins

Nov - Government imposes state of emergency in the capital and north, east and southern regions. International aid agencies evacuate non-essential staff from the eastern town of Abeche, following an escalation of rebel activity

Dec - Heavy fighting breaks out between the army and rebels in the east. FUC rebel leader Mahamat Nour Abdelkerim signs peace deal with Deby

2007

Feb - A coalition of four rebel groups claims to have taken the eastern border town of Adre

The U.N. refugee agency warns the violence in Chad could turn into a genocide similar to 1994 Rwanda

Chad rejects a plan for U.N. troops along its eastern border

Sept - The U.N. Security Council authorises a protection force in Chad and Central African Republic, comprising up to 3,700 troops from European Union countries and 300 U.N. police

Oct - Rebel groups including the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) sign a peace agreement with the government at talks in Libya

Dec - Rebel groups abandon ceasefire and resume fighting in east

2008

Feb - Two-day rebel assault on N'Djamena, kills about 700 and forces thousands of civilians to flee into Cameroon. Violence delays deployment of EU force (EUFOR)

Chad's army says it repulsed an attack on Adre by Sudanese army troops and rebels

A non-binding U.N. Security Council statement urges the international community to support Chad's president

Feb - Deby threatens to expel Darfuri refugees from Chad

Mar - EUFOR mission, still only partially deployed, clashes with Sudanese troops after inadvertently crossing over border

Chad and Sudan sign peace accord in Senegal

May - Tensions with Sudan grow over N'djamena's alleged backing of 10-11 May Darfur rebel attack on Khartoum. Chad denies involvement and closes border

Jun - Chadian rebels advance into Chad from border area with Sudan and raid several towns in east. U.N. refugee agency UNHCR temporarily suspends operations in 12 camps on Sudanese border

Jul - Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres suspend operations in Kerfi, eastern Chad, after attacks on personnel and facilities. International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies temporarily withdraw aid workers from N'djamena after security threats

Aug - Chad court sentences exiled former President Hissan Habre and leaders of an eastern rebellion to death in absentia

Floods in south displace 10,000 people and kill three

Sep - Chad and Sudan agree to establish joint peacekeeping force on the border

Oxfam says U.N. and EU peacekeepers failing to protect civilians in eastern Chad

World Bank pulls out of Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline operated by Exxon Mobil, saying Chad government had failed its promises to set aside oil revenues for local communities, health and education

Nov - Sudan and Chad restore diplomatic ties

Dec - U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes says aid supplies in eastern camps threatened by worsening banditry and recruitment by Darfur rebel groups

2009

Jan - Sudan and Chad accuse each other of backing new attacks on their respective rebel groups

Mar - EU peacekeepers hand over operations to U.N. force