July 13 (Reuters) - Islamist insurgents have vowed to attack a major peace meeting in the Somali capital Mogadishu, which the interim government said will go ahead despite the threats.

Some 1,355 clan elders, ex-warlords and politicians from across the country are invited -- but not leaders from an ousted Islamist group -- to a meeting seen as government's last best hope for achieving peace in the Horn of Africa nation.

The conference caps a period that has been tumultuous even by Somali standards:

* A NEW GOVERNMENT:

-- The first meeting of the country's parliament on home soil took place in Baidoa in February 2006, nearly two years after it was formed in the safety of neighbouring Kenya.

-- Lawmakers elected Ethiopian-backed warlord Abdullahi Yusuf as president and Ali Mohamed Gedi as prime minister to run the 14th attempt at government in Somalia since warlords ousted the last president, dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, in 1991.

* A NEW ORDER:

-- In June 2006, after winning a bloody three-month battle against U.S.-backed warlords, Islamist militia calling themselves the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) seized Mogadishu. Washington accused the SICC of al Qaeda links.

-- Taming the capital has been the holy grail for every attempt at government since 1991 and only the Islamists succeeded in stabilising it, by imposing what critics called a harsh version of Islamic law.

-- They further spread their control to most of south Somalia and advanced on the government's base in Baidoa.

* A QUICK RETURN:

-- With tacit U.S. approval, Somalia's neighbour Ethiopia sent in troops to prop up the government and defend against an impending Islamist attack on Baidoa, which came in December.

-- The better-armed Ethiopian and Somali force advanced rapidly and ran the Islamists all the way to Somalia's southern tip. Mogadishu fell to the government in the last days of December, without a shot being fired after the Islamists fled.

* DEATH ON THE STREETS:

-- Two rounds of fighting between Ethiopian and Somali troops against Islamist insurgents in early 2007 sent residents fleeing the city in droves and killed at least 1,300 people, mainly civilians.

-- The United Nations said more than 390,000 Somalis had abandoned the capital since February, though the government disputes that figure. About 90,000 have returned to their homes.

-- The African Union called for a peacekeeping force of 8,000 to be dispatched to Somalia. But only Uganda responded immediately with 1,600 troops.

-- Full-scale conflict has given way to almost daily guerrilla-style attacks on Ethiopian military and Somali government targets. Most casualties have been civilians. (Writing by David Cutler in London)

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