November 24th, 1996: Zaire marks 31 years of Mobutu's rule.
January 20th, 1997: Rebels led by Kabila advance on several fronts, including mineral-rich Shaba region.
April 8th: Mobutu Sese Seko declares state of emergency.
May 4th: Talks between Kabila and Mobutu hosted by South Africa's Nelson Mandela end inconclusively.
May 16th: Mobutu leaves Kinshasa for his northern jungle palace at Gbadolite.
May 17th: As his troops enter capital Kinshasa, Kabila says he is taking over as head of state with agreement of generals. He renames the country Democratic Republic of Congo.
September 7th: Mobutu dies in Rabat, Morocco.
August 2nd, 1998: Rwandan and Ugandan-backed rebels take up arms against Kabila. Kabila accuses Rwanda and Uganda of invading. Zimbabwe hosts talks but the rebels advance on the eastern and western fronts.
August 19th: Zimbabwe and Namibia send troops to help Kabila.
August 24th: Angola confirms it has sent troops to fight for Kabila.
September 7th: Congo's neighbours organise peace talks in Zimbabwe. Talks end the next day without agreement on a ceasefire.
September 28th: Chad sends troops to the Congo to fight for Kabila.
May 5th, 1999: Presidents of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania call for ceasefire after two-day summit in Tanzania.
May 26th: Chad pulls troops out of Congo.
May 28th: Rwanda proclaims unilateral ceasefire; Uganda pulls out of areas in eastern Congo.
July 10th: Six African governments involved in the war sign ceasefire accord in Lusaka. Rebels do not sign.
August 23rd: South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Zuma persuades leaders of rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy to sign ceasefire.
December 3rd: Congolese conflict re-ignited.
February 24th, 2000: UN Security Council authorises 5,500member force to monitor a shaky ceasefire.
April 30th: Kabila and five other African leaders meet in Algiers in a fresh effort to shore up ceasefire.
June 3rd: Kabila and Rwandan President hold talks for the first time since Rwanda sent troops into Congo.
August 18th: Transitional parliament calls for fight against invading forces.
January 11th, 2001: Burundi's government and one of its two main ethnic Hutu rebel groups agree to withdraw troops from Democratic Republic of Congo.
January 16th: Kabila is reported shot by a member of his own armed forces.