Jan 28 (Reuters) - Protests erupted in west Kenya and machete-wielding mobs faced off in the Rift Valley on Monday after dozens were killed in ethnic violence that complicated mediation efforts by former U.N. boss Kofi Annan.

Here is a chronology of the crisis:

Dec 27 - Voters elect a new president and parliament.

Dec 30 - The Electoral Commission declares Kibaki winner of the presidential election, he is hurriedly sworn in.

-- Raila Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wins the biggest number of seats in the parliamentary election.

Dec 31 - Streets are flooded with security forces and a ban on live TV broadcasts after riots convulse the nation is maintained.

Jan 1 - A mob sets fire to a church, killing about 30 villagers from Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.

Jan 2 - The government accuses Odinga's backers of "ethnic cleansing" as the death toll from tribal violence rises.

Jan 4 - Kibaki says he will accept a re-run of the disputed election if a court orders it.

-- The United Nations says the unrest has uprooted 250,000 people.

Jan 5 - Kibaki says he is ready to form a government of national unity to end the turmoil, but the opposition rejects the offer.

Jan 7 - Odinga calls off planned protests after meeting U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer, saying the mediation process will begin.

Jan 8 - Kibaki announces 17 ministers for his new cabinet. Protesters respond by building and burning barricades in Odinga's western stronghold, Kisumu.

-- John Kufuor, African Union chairman and president of Ghana, arrives in Nairobi to mediate.

Jan 10 - Kufuor leaves Kenya saying both sides have agreed to work together with an African panel headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Kibaki and Odinga, amid recriminations, have not met or agreed how to end the crisis.

Jan 11 - The ODM calls for international sanctions against Kibaki.

Jan 15 - Parliament is convened and the opposition gets a boost by winning the post of speaker.

Jan 16 - Police fight hundreds of protesters throughout the country, as the opposition defies a ban on rallies.

Jan 17 - In Nairobi and the western towns of Kisumu and Eldoret, police fire teargas and bullets during rallies called by the opposition but banned by police.

Jan 19 - The opposition says it will resume protests next week, having completed three days of demonstrations in which at least 23 people died.

Jan 22 - Ex-U.N. chief Kofi Annan arrives in Kenya to attempt mediation. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also flies into Nairobi to try to mediate.

Jan 24 - Kibaki and Odinga meet in a breakthrough brokered by Annan.

Jan 25 - Annan denounces "gross and systematic" human rights abuses in Kenya after continuing post-election violence and the next day calls for an investigation.

Jan 27 - Annan meets Odinga as ethnic clashes continue.

-- Negotiators led by Annan tell the rival camps of Kibaki, and Odinga to select four officials each and for further talks in the next 24 hours.

Jan 28 - At least 64 people are killed in four days of ethnic fighting in the Rift Valley towns of Nakuru and Naivasha pushing up the death toll up to around 800 people.

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