Timeline: Guinea

A chronology of key events

1891 - France declares Guinea to be a colony, separate from Senegal.

AHMED SEKOU TOURE Led Guinea at independence. Thousands died or disappeared during his 26-year rule Guinea's 50 years of poverty

1898 - Defeat of resistance to French occupation led by Samory Toure, great-grandfather of future President Ahmed Sekou Toure.

1906 - Guinea becomes part of French West African Federation.

1952 - Ahmed Sekou Toure becomes secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Guinea.

Independence

1958 October - Guinea becomes independent, with Ahmed Sekou Toure as president.

1965 - Sekou Toure breaks off relations with France after accusing it of plotting to oust him.

1984 March - Sekou Toure dies.

1984 April - Lansana Conte and Diarra Traore seize power in bloodless coup. Conte becomes president while Traore is installed as prime minister.

1985 - Attempted coup organized by Traore following his demotion to education minister.

1990 - Constitution paving the way for civilian government is adopted.

Democracy without peace

1993 - First multiparty elections are held; Conte confirmed in office.

Guinea sheltered many of the refugees who fled Liberia's civil war

1995 - Conte's Party of Unity and Progress wins 71 of the National Assembly's 114 seats.

1996 - Some 30 people are killed and presidential palace set on fire as 25% of Guinea's armed forces mutiny over low pay, poor conditions.

2000 September - Alpha Conde, leader of opposition Guinean People's Rally, sentenced to five years in prison for endangering state security and recruiting foreign mercenaries. He is pardoned in May 2001.

2000 September - Start of incursions by rebels in Guinea's border regions with Liberia and Sierra Leone which eventually claim more than 1,000 lives and cause massive population displacement. The government accuses Liberia, the Sierra Leonean United Revolutionary Front (RUF) rebel group, Burkina Faso and former Guinean army mutineers of trying to destabilise Guinea.

2001 February - Government deploys attack helicopters to the front-line in its fight with rebels.

Referendum

2001 November - Official results show constitutional referendum, boycotted by opposition, endorses President Conte's proposal to extend presidential term from five to seven years. Critics accuse Mr Conte of trying to stay in power for life.

2002 March - Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia agree on measures to secure mutual borders and to tackle insurgency.

2003 November - Opposition leader Jean-Marie Dore detained, subsequently released, after saying President Conte is too ill to contest December's presidential election.

2003 December - President Conte wins a third term in elections boycotted by the opposition.

2004 April - Prime Minister Lounseny Fall resigns while visiting the US.

2005 January - President Conte survives what security officials say is an assassination attempt. Shots were fired as his motorcade passed through the capital.

2005 July - Alpha Conde, head of the main opposition Guinean People's Rally, returns from exile in France. He is welcomed by thousands of supporters.

2006 March - President Conte is flown to Switzerland for medical treatment. Opposition parties call for the formation of an interim government.

2006 April - Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo sacked.

Strikes and protests

Protesters blamed President Conte for poor living standards Q&A: Guinea emergency 2007: Guinea's strongman feels the heat

2006 June - Crippling general strike suspended after eight days after trade unions, government agree on wages and prices of basic goods. Several student protesters were killed during unrest over the postponement of exams due to the strike.

2006 October - President Conte fails to make his usual independence day speech, fuelling concerns about his health.

2007 January - General strike called by unions, opposition in protest against the rule of President Conte. Several people are killed in clashes between demonstrators and police.

2007 13 February - President Conte declares a state of emergency, instructs the army to restore order following days of violent protests.

LANSANA CONTE Seized power in 1984 and ruled until he died in 2008 Leader who unified, repressed

2007 26 February - President names Lansana Kouyate as prime minister under a deal to end the general strike.

2007 May - Violent protests as soldiers demand better pay.

2007 August - Government announces discovery of commercially viable reserves of uranium.

2008 May - President sacks Lansana Kouyate as prime minister and replaces him with former minister of mines and ally Ahmed Tidiane Souare.

Soldiers begin a mutiny over pay.

Conte dies, military seizes power

2008 December - Military seizes power within hours of death of President Lansana Conte. The coup meets with international condemnation, but many Guineans back the army's move.

STADIUM MASSACRE More than 150 killed after military opened fire on opposition gathering Human Rights Watch alleges army encircled stadium and stormed in to shoot and rape UN set up tribunal to probe killings Action on 28 September 2009 widely condemned

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara emerges as leader of the new military junta and declares himself president.

Junta appoints former banker Kabine Komara as prime minister.

2009 August - Military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara says presidential elections will be held on 31 January 2010 and elections for parliament in March. Despite a previous promise that he would not seek election, his supporters form a movement urging him to stand.

2009 September - Soldiers open fire on a mass opposition rally at a stadium in Conakry, called to urge military ruler Moussa Camara to step down. The Guinean Human Rights Organisation says 157 are killed in the violence and over 1200 injured. The military government puts the death toll at 57, and bans all "subversive" gatherings.

2009 October - The European Union, the African Union and the US United States impose sanctions.

The United Nations sets up a tribunal to probe the death of at least 150 protesters, who died when troops fired on an anti-government demonstration in September.