1899-1955: Sudan is under joint British-Egyptian rule

1956: Independence from Egypt and Britain

1962: Civil war breaks out in south Sudan

1978: Oil is discovered in southern Sudan

1980: Conflicts broke over throughout Africa – most African countries had reached independence from colonial rule at this point, but unclear borders left by European powers and the repressive governments that rose to power when countries became independent created conflict

1983: Civil war breaks out again in southern Sudan

1983: Islamic law is imposed throughout Sudan

1998: US launches amissile attack on a plant in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, claiming that it was making materials for chemical weapons

1998: New constitution is voted in by over 96% of voters

1999: President Omar al-Bashir dissolves the National Assembly and declares a state of emergency after a power struggle with the speaker of the National Assembly

1999: Sudan begins to export oil and develops relationships with international players, like China

2000: Main opposition parties boycott presidential elections, claiming corruption. President al-Bashir is re-elected for another five years

2001: US extends sanctions against Sudan, citing terrorism links and human rights violations

2002: Ceasefire is signed between warring civil groups

February 2003: Rebels in Darfur rise up against government, claiming it has neglected Darfur

January 2004: Army starts to put down rebels in Darfur – hundreds of thousands of refugees flee to the neighboring country of Chad

March 2004: UN officials claim that pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias are carrying out “systematic killings” of African villagers in Darfur

March 2004: Army officers and opposition politicians are jailed over an alleged plot to overthrow the government

May 2004: Government and southern rebels agree to power-sharing deal as part of a peace agreement to end long-term civil war (not related to killings in Darfur)

September 2004: the UN says Sudan has not met targets for disarming pro-government militias and must accept outside humanitarian help.

September 2004: US Secretary of State Colin Powell describes the situation in Darfur as a genocide

January 2005: UN report accuses the government and militias of “systematic abuses” in Darfur, but NOT DOES YET call it a genocide

May 2006: Government of Sudan and the main rebel group in Darfur (the Sudan Liberation Movement) sign a peace agreement. Two other rebel groups in Darfur reject the deal, and the government immediately violates it. Fighting keeps going

August 2006: Sudan rejects a UN resolution insisting on a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur – they claimed it would violate their rights as an independent country

October 2006: The UN’s top official in Sudan, Jan Pronk, is kicked out by the Sudanese government

November 2006: African Union extends their official stay in Darfur for six more months

April 2007: Sudan says it will accept a partial UN peacekeeping force to reinforced African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, but NOT a full 20,000 person force that the UN proposed

May 2007: International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for a minister and a Janjaweed militia leader suspected of war crimes in Darfur

May 2007: US President George W Bush announces new sanctions against Sudan

July 2007: UN Security Council approves a resolution to place a 26,000 person force in Darfur and Sudan says it will cooperate with the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
January 2008: UN takes over Darfur peace force

January 2008: Sudanese troops fire on a UNAMID humanitarian convoy. Sudan apologizes and says it was a mistake

January 2008: Government planes bomb rebel-heavy locations in west Darfur and these areas are then declared “no-go” zones for aid workers

February 2008: Commander of UNAMID says more troops are desperately needed in west Darfur

July 2008: The International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor calls for the arrest of President Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Sudan rejects the demand

September 2008: Darfur rebels claim government forces and Janjaweed militias are launching air and ground attacks on two towns in Darfur

October 2008: Claims emerge that Ukrainian tanks that were hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia were heading for Sudan

November 2008: President Bashir announces an immediate ceasefire in Darfur, but the two main rebel groups in Darfur reject this announcement saying they want to fight until the government agrees to share power and spread some wealth to Darfur

December 2008: The Sudanese army sends troops to Darfur, claiming that a Darfur rebel group planned to attack an oil-rich area of the region

2008: In 2008, the UN reported the estimated death toll of at least 300,000 after five years of conflict

January 2009: Sudanese Islamist leader is arrested in Sudan after saying President Bashir should turn himself into the International Criminal Court to face the war crimes charges

March 2009: The International Criminal Court issues an actual arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This means that the ICC has enough evidence to charge Bashir in connection to the genocide. This is also the first time they have issued an arrest warrant against a current head-of-state.

March 2009: The government of Sudan kicks humanitarian groups out of Darfur in reaction to the arrest warrant