1962 - Uganda granted independence from Britain. Milton Obote becomes prime minister. Obote adopts shaky alliance with king of central Buganda region, which enjoys considerable autonomy under new government

1966 - Obote abolishes federal powers of kingdoms, notably Buganda's special status, and consolidates presidential powers in prime minister's office

1967 - Obote abolishes all Uganda's traditional kingdoms. Buganda is carved into four districts and ruled through martial law

1969 - Obote bans all groups opposed to his Uganda People's Congress (UPC) party

1971 - Obote overthrown by his military protege Idi Amin. Hundreds of thousands killed during Amin's eight-year rule. He's especially ruthless with northern Acholi and Langi ethnic groups

1972 - Amin expels all non-Ugandan citizens, including some 60,000 Asians

1976 - Amin declares himself "president for life"

1978 - Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles topple Amin. The Uganda National Liberation Front forms interim government, with Yusuf Lule as president

1979 - Lule is replaced by Godfrey Binaisa, a former attorney general

1980 - Milton Obote returns to power at elections

1986 - After a five-year guerrilla war against Obote, Museveni seizes power

1992 - Northern rebel groups and former Obote troops form Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)

1996 - Museveni wins presidential election with 75 percent of the vote

1997 - Ugandan troops back Laurent Kabila and help overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in Democratic Republic of Congo

1998 - Uganda invades Congo again, this time in an attempt to overthrow Kabila. It is accused of plunderting natural resources in Congo

2001 - Museveni returned to office for another term

2002 - Museveni launches military campaign "Operation Iron Fist" aimed at wiping out LRA for good. Rebels abduct more children and attack more civilians

2003 - Uganda pulls troops out of Congo

2004

Feb - LRA kill more than 200 people at a refugee camp in north

Nov - Betty Bigombe, a former government minister living in U.S., returns to Uganda to mediate

2005

Jan - Sudanese government and rebels in Southern Sudan sign peace deal and both pledge to help Uganda defeat LRA

Feb - 18-day amnesty truce declared to let LRA soldiers surrender. LRA spokesman Brig. Sam Kolo becomes highest-ranking to turn himself in

Aug - Presidential term limits abolished, paving way for Museveni's third term

Oct - International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for LRA leader Joseph Kony and four other senior rebels

Dec - International Court of Justice finds Uganda guilty of violating sovereignty of Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as looting, plundering and exploiting Congolese natural resources

2006

Feb - Museveni wins polls again, this time defeating former ally Kizza Besigye

Apr - Uganda's defence minister appeals to U.N. Security Council to let his troops enter Congo under U.N. supervision to hunt LRA

Apr - Uganda's amnesty law is amended to exclude top-level insurgents, namely Kony and those indicted by the ICC

May - Southern Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar meets Kony and offers to mediate with Museveni

Jun - LRA delegation arrives in Juba for further talks, which continue through July. Kony and his deputy, Vincent Otti, refuse to attend for fear of being arrested under ICC warrants

Aug - LRA declares unilateral ceasefire. At end of month, truce is agreed, with provision for rebels to gather in two assembly sites in southern Sudan while talks continue. Kony and Otti continue to demand ICC warrants be scrapped before they'll give up arms

Oct - Rebels drift away from assembly camps, and both sides accuse each other of breaking word

2007

Feb 28 - LRA say it will not renew truce, raising fears of a new chapter of violence

Mar - LRA and government promise to keep the peace, despite expired truce. Most LRA commanders regroup with Kony in DRC

Apr - U.N.-brokered talks result in renewal of ceasefire to the end of June. LRA demands 12-month suspension of ICC arrest warrants

May - Calm prevails in northern Uganda but LRA rebels continue to attack civilians in South Sudan

Jun - Peace talks progress and Uganda agrees to seek a review of ICC arrest warrants. LRA rebels delay assembly on Sudan/DRC border as required by ceasefire agreement

Jul - Security improves in South Sudan after up to 1,000 LRA fighters move to base in Congo. U.N. Mission in the Congo (MONUC) plans to stop more rebels crossing border

2008

Jan - Otti confirmed dead. LRA deserters have previously said Kony shot Otti in October 2007 after accusing him of spying for government

Feb - LRA and Kampala sign deal allowing grave war crimes to be tried in special Ugandan courts with traditional mato oput justice used for lesser crimes

Apr - Kony dashes hopes for final peace deal by failing to turn up to signing ceremony on remote Sudan-Congo border

Apr - Kampala threatens fresh military campaign with U.S. support unless Kony agrees to return to peace talks

Nov - Mediators give rebels until end of month to sign deal

Dec - Uganda, DRC and southern Sudan launch joint military offensive against LRA rebels in northeast Congo

2009

Jan - LRA asks for ceasefire

Feb - Museveni's wife appointed minister for Karamoja

Mar - Ugandan troops withdraw from Congo. LRA attacks continue across region