REUTERS

Feb. 15, 2011 – A riot in Benghazi is triggered by the arrest of human rights activist Fethi Tarbel, who has worked to free political prisoners. Feb. 17 – Activists designate a day of rage on the 2006 anniversary of security forces killing protesters attacking the Benghazi consulate of former colonial power, Italy.

Feb. 24 – Anti-Libyan government militias take control of Misrata after evicting forces loyal to Gadhafi.

Feb. 26 – The U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions on Gadhafi and his family, and refers Libya’s crackdown on rebels to the International Criminal Court.

Feb. 28 – EU governments approve a package of sanctions against Gadhafi and his closest advisers including an arms embargo.

March 5 – The National Council meets in Benghazi and declares itself the sole representative for Libya.

March 10 – France recognizes the Libyan National Council as the legitimate representative of Libya’s people. Libya suspends diplomatic relations with France the next day.

March 16 – Forces loyal to Gadhafi are near rebel-held Benghazi. Gadhafi’s son Seif sl-Islam tells France-based TV channel Euronews: “Everything will be over in 48 hours.”

March 17 – The U.N. Security Council votes to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya and “all necessary measures” to protect civilians against Gadhafi’s army.

March 19 – Airstrikes halt the advance of Gadhafi’s forces on Benghazi and target Libya’s air defenses.

March 28 – Qatar becomes the first Arab country to recognize Libya’s rebel council as the people’s legitimate representatives.

March 29 – A London conference of 40 governments and organizations agrees to set up a contact group comprising 20 countries to coordinate efforts in a post-Gadhafi Libya.

March 30 – Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa defects and flees by plane to Britain.

April 10 – Gadhafi accepts a roadmap for ending the conflict, South African President Jacob Zuma says after leading a delegation of four African leaders at talks in Tripoli. Rebels reject the plan.

April 30 – A NATO missile attack on a house in Tripoli kills Gadhafi’s youngest son and three grandchildren.

May 30 – In his first appearance in a month, Gadhafi renews a cease-fire call in talks with visiting South African President Zuma but gives no sign he will heed demands to step down.

June 1 – Libyian oil official Shokri Ghanem defects and is seen in Rome.

June 8 – Western and Arab nations meet rebels in Abu Dhabi discussing the “endgame” for Gadhafi.

June 15 – Libya approves a $31.4 billion budget for the rest of 2011

June 27 – The ICC issues arrest warrants for Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, charged with crimes against humanity.

July 15 – Libya’s rebel Transitional National Council wins recognition as the legitimate government of Libya from the U.S. at a meeting in Turkey of the contact group on Libya.

July 26 – U.N. envoy Abdul Elah al-Khatib says after talks with Libya’s prime minister, the government and the rebels remain far apart in efforts to end the crisis.

July 27 – Rebels win diplomatic recognition from Britain which also expels the remaining Gadhafi diplomats from London.

July 28 – Abdel Fattah Younes, Gadhafi’s former interior minister who defected to the rebels on Feb. 22 and became their military chief, is killed.

Aug. 9 – Gadhafi’s government accuses NATO of killing 85 civilians in an airstrike near Zlitan.

Aug. 14 – Libyan rebels take the center of Zawiyah, near Tripoli, cutting the coastal highway to Tunisia which keeps the capital supplied with food and fuel.

Aug. 15 – In a barely audible telephone call to state television, Gadhafi calls on his followers to liberate Libya from rebels and NATO. Rebels say they have captured Garyan, on the highway leading south from Tripoli.

Aug. 16 – Libya’s rebels say they have completed moves to cut off roads to the capital.

Aug. 20 – Explosions rattle Tripoli after days of battlefield defeats leave Gadhafi’s government and troops besieged in the capital.

Aug. 21 – Rebel fighters enter Tripoli with little resistance. Gadhafi makes two audio addresses over state television calling on Libyans to fight off the rebel “rats.”Rebels reach Green Square, and rename it Martyrs Square. Libyan rebels say they have detained two of Gadhafi’s sons, Seif al-Islam and his eldest son Mohammad Gadhafi.

Aug. 22 – Libyan government troops put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli after rebels sweep into the heart of the capital. Rebels say they are meeting resistance at Gadhafi’s compound at Bab al-Aziziyah.