Chronology of recent events

2006
February
18 - A group of Mogadishu-based warlords form the Alliance for Peace and Fight Against International Terrorism to confront Islamic courts forces, sparking several days of bloody clashes between the two sides

19-22 Fighting forces thousands of people to flee northern and northeastern suburbs of Mogadishu. Dozens are killed

22 - Heavy fighting erupts between militia loyal to warlords and those of the Islamic courts, forcing thousands more to flee

March
22 - Twelve are killed as fighting breaks out again

24 - United Nations envoy for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, urges an end to hostilities

27 - Calm reported in Mogadishu after a truce comes into effect

28 - International Committee of the Red Cross supplies medical kits to help Mogadishu's hospitals cope with rising casualties

29 - Bid to broker ceasefire between rival militias hits snag after one of the groups delays sending emissaries to talks venue

April
7 - Isma'il Jim'ale Human Rights Centre (IJHRC) calls on Somalis and the international community to help displaced families

23 - At least seven people are killed killed and scores wounded as the rival armed groups fight again

May
7-9 - At least 40 killed in three days of fighting in Mogadishu

10 - A United Nations report reveals that arms and other military material continue to flow into Somalia despite an arms embargo

15 - A shaky ceasefire appears to be holding after seven days of fighting

25 - Thousands continue to flee heavy fighting

26 - Mogadishu quiet but tense after days of heavy fighting

30 - Red Cross says armed fighters have occupied a hospital offering surgical services to civilians wounded in the fighting

31 - At least five are killed as fighting continues

June
4 - The Union of Islamic Courts claims victory as warlords flee Mogadishu

6 - Kenya bans leaders of Somalia's armed factions and their associates from entering the country

7 - Kenyan authorities deport Abdirashid Hussein Shire, a prominent Somali businessman with alleged links to warlords

8 - Two ministers from the Transitional Federal Government meet with the leadership of the Islamic Courts in Mogadishu

14 - Militia of the Union of the Islamic Court capture the strategic town of Jowhar, the last stronghold of the warlords

13 - IGAD member states impose a regional travel ban on the warlords and agree to freeze their assets

14 - Somalia's transitional parliament votes in favour of the deployment of an African peacekeeping force to the country

15 - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urges Somalia's Islamic Courts and the interim government to work together to restore order

19 - African Union proposes sending peacekeepers to Somalia and announces that an assessment mission will go there

19 - UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Eric Laroche, says the UN is planning a humanitarian mission to Mogadishu

22 - Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed leads his government's delegation to Sudan for talks the Mogadishu's Islamic leaders