1989 - Rebels led by Liberian President Samuel Doe's former procurement chief, Charles Taylor, invade Liberia from Ivory Coast. Taylor and his National Patriotic Front (NPF) win support from Liberians weary of Doe's oppressive government. A 13-year civil war ensues

1991 - War breaks out in Sierra Leone when ex-army corporal Foday Sankoh and his Revolutionary United Front (RUF) take up arms against then President Joseph Momoh, seizing towns near Liberia's border

1992 - Momoh ousted in a military coup led by Captain Valentine Strasser, who announces multi-party elections

1996 - Strasser ousted in a bloodless coup by Brigadier Julius Maada Bio in January. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah elected president and a peace deal signed with the RUF in November. Rebels continue slaughtering civilians

1997 - Peace deal falls apart and President Kabbah deposed in May by a coalition of army officers allied with the rebels. Major General Paul Koroma sworn in as president in June. In July, Charles Taylor becomes president of neighbouring Liberia after a landslide election victory

1998 - Fighting breaks out between the Nigerian-led Ecomog intervention force, which storms Freetown and drives rebels out and reinstates Kabbah. Rebels go on the rampage in the countryside, murdering and mutilating civilians

1999 - Truce agreed in the Togolese capital Lome after heavy fighting in Freetown

2000 - Truce falls apart and former colonial power Britain sends troops to help a struggling U.N. force. RUF leader Sankoh is captured

2001 - U.N. troops begin to deploy in rebel-held areas, where they start to disarm the rebels

2002 - The war declared officially over in January, days after the U.N. agrees to establish a war crimes court. Kabbah re-elected in May. RUF, standing as a political party, wins little support in the ballot

2003 - Sankoh dies in prison, his lieutenant Sam Bockarie is shot dead in Liberia and Taylor flees into exile in Nigeria. In March, the court indicts him on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Koroma is reported to have died, but this is never confirmed and he is still classed as missing

2004 - Disarmament of the rebels officially completed and local elections are held. The U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal opens in Freetown

2005 - Last U.N. peacekeeping troops leave the country

2006 - Taylor is apprehended in Nigeria. In March, the court reduces the number of counts against him from 17 to 11 to ensure a more focused trial. International Criminal Court agrees to host Taylor's trial, and Britain agrees to jail him if convicted. In Sierra Leone, elections are set for July 2007

2007

Feb - Sam Hinga Norman, a leader of a pro-government militia, dies

Jun - Taylor's trial begins but is adjourned after a day following claims by Taylor that he does not have a proper defence

Sept - Ernest Bai Koroma is elected president on an anti-corruption platform

Dec - The president orders the country's Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct an investigation into graft amongst former politicians and officials

2008

Jan - Taylor's trial resumes in The Hague. Expected to last until mid-2009