Key events in Syria's protest movement:

- March 15: Dozens march in Damascus after a Facebook call for a "Day of Dignity." Syria's state of emergency was declared in 1963.

- March 23: Activists say around 100 people are killed in the southern town of Daraa, the focus of the protests.

- March 30: In his first major address since the protests began, President Bashar al-Assad portrays the revolt as a conspiracy.

- April 14: Assad's new prime minister, Adel Safar, announces a cabinet to lead reforms.

- April 19: Authorities warn they will not accept demonstrations.

- April 21: Assad issues decrees ending the state of emergency, abolishing state security courts and "regulating" peaceful protests, but opposition leaders say the concessions are not enough.

- April 22: Security forces reportedly shoot dead at least 80 people during new protests.

- April 23: At least 25 more people reported shot dead during funerals.

- April 25-29: Troops backed by tanks storm Daraa, killing 50, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

- April 27: The UN Security Council fails to agree on a condemnation of the killings.
More than 230 members of the ruling Baath Party announce their resignation.

- April 29: At least 73 civilians are killed in 48 hours, mainly in Daraa, according to activists. Officials say nine members of the security forces are killed in clashes.
The UN Human Rights Council calls for an investigative mission into the bloodshed.

- May 1: Britain condemns Syria's "disgraceful and unacceptable" crackdown.

- May 3: Anti-regime protesters call for permanent sit-ins in towns and cities across Syria.
France says EU sanctions should target Assad. The US condemns the Syrian government for imposing "barbaric measures."

- May 4: Students hold sit-ins at the universities in Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, and briefly in Daraa.
Tanks and troop transports converge on the central towns of Ar-Rastan and Talbisseh.

- May 5: The Syrian army begins a pullback from Daraa, but troop reinforcements and armour are sent to the Mediterranean coastal town of Banias.
A new wave of arrests.
The United States and Italy call for an immediate end to the crackdown.

- May 6: Thousands of Syrians rally on a "Day of Defiance". Security forces open fire on demonstrators in the central city of Homs, killing five people and wounding several others: rights activists.
Security forces arrest prominent Syrian dissident Riad Seif: rights activist.
The European Union agrees to impose sanctions on 13 Syrian officials involved in the crackdown, but not on Assad.

Insan, a Syrian human rights group, says the civilian death toll has topped 600 and as many as 8,000 people are listed as arrested or missing.