Somalia became independent in 1960 with Aden Abdullah Osman Daar elected President.

1969 – Siad Barre assumes power in a coup after Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke’s assassination.

1991 – Siad Barre is ousted by clan warlords with the ensuing fighting killing thousands.

1991 - Former British protectorate of Somaliland declares unilateral independence.

1998 - Puntland region declares autonomy.

2009 September - Al-Shabab proclaims allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden.

2010 July - Al-Shabab blasts kill 74 people in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

2011 August-September - Al-Shabab militants raid Kenyan coastal resorts.

2011 October - Kenyan troops enter Somalia in pursuit of Al-Shabab militants.

2011 December - UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, visits Mogadishu.

2012 May – AU and Somali forces capture the town of Afgoye south of Mogadishu.

2012 August - First formal Parliament in more than 20 years inaugurated in Mogadishu.

2012 September - Academic and civic activist, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, elected President.

2012 October - Only 70 pirate attacks reported in 2012 as against 233 in 2011.

2013 April - UN Security Council partially lifts embargo on selling arms to Somalia.

2013 April – Third international conference on helping to rebuild Somalia holds in London.

Source: BBC