15 March: Dozens march in Damascus responding to a Facebook call for a Day of Dignity

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

21 April: President Bashar Al-Assad ends the state of emergency, in force since 1963

22 April: Security forces reportedly shoot demonstrators, killing at least 80

6 May: Thousands of Syrians rally on the Day of Defiance

28 May: Pro-democracy activists call for fresh protests after the alleged torture and killing of a 13-year-old boy by security forces in Daraa

31 May: Assad announces amnesty for political prisoners

6 June: State television says "armed gangs" have killed 120 policemen in the town of Jisr al-Shughur; activists speak of a mutiny at the local security headquarters

12 June: Troops seize the flash point of Jisr al-Shughur, saying they have found a mass grave containing the mutilated bodies of 10 security agents

18 June: Tanks enter a village bordering Turkey where 10,000 Syrians have sought refuge

19 June: Activists announce a "National Council" in opposition to the Damascus regime.

20 June: Assad says dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even end his Baath party's monopoly on power but refuses to instigate reforms amid "chaos." The opposition says the "revolution" is ongoing

28 June: The opposition rallies forces in Damascus

30 June 30: Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters demonstrate in Syria's second city, Aleppo

1 July: Security forces kill at least 28 people at a protest involving more than half a million in Hama

6 July: Amnesty International accuses the regime of crimes against humanity during a crackdown in the border town of Tal Kalakh in May

8 July: Thirteen civilians are killed by security forces a day after the US and French ambassadors visit Hama, where hundreds of thousands demonstrate

11 July: After an angry mob attacks the US and French embassies in Damascus, Washington says Assad is "not indispensable"

15 July: More than a million people take to the streets in two cities; at least 28 are killed by security forces, including 16 in Damascus

25 July: Syria's government adopts a draft law authorising the creation of political parties alongside the ruling Baath party

31 July: Security forces kill nearly 140 people when the army storms Hama to crush dissent on the eve of Ramadan; US President Barack Obama says he is "appalled".

1 August: At least 25 civilians are killed; Russia urges Syria to put an immediate stop to the use of force and repression

2 August: The EU extends to 30 its blacklist of individuals and businesses associated with repression in Syria

3 August: At least 30 are killed in an army bombardment of Hama. After weeks of dithering, the UN Security Council condemns the crackdown in a statement, but not a resolution

4 August: Assad issues a decree authorising political parties; France slams the decree as a "provocation"

Since the beginning of the protests, more than 1,600 civilians and 370 members of the security forces have been killed, according to human rights groups.