TIMELINE: Twists and turns in Thai political turmoil

(Reuters) - The Thai army and anti-government protesters clashed in Bangkok on Monday, two days after protests forced an Asian summit to be canceled in a southern tourist resort, which led to a state of emergency in the capital.

Here is a timeline tracing the recent political turmoil.

September 2005 - Sondhi Limthongkul, a former business associate of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, starts the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) street campaign to oust Thaksin.

April 2, 2006 - Thaksin wins a snap election called to silence Sondhi. A court later nullifies the result.

September 19 - Military stages a coup while Thaksin is at the United Nations in New York. He flies into exile in London.

October 1 - Former army commander-in-chief Surayud Chulanont is sworn in as interim prime minister.

May 30, 2007 - Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party dissolved for breaking election laws. He and 110 senior party members are banned from politics for five years.

August 20 - Voters endorse a new, military-drafted constitution, the 18th in 75 years of on-off democracy.

December 23 - The pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) falls just short of outright majority in a general election.

January 28, 2008 - PPP leader Samak Sundaravej elected prime minister.

May 25 - PAD resumes street protests to overthrow what it says is a "Thaksin puppet government."

July 31 - Thaksin's wife Potjaman gets a three-year jail term for tax fraud.

August 11 - Thaksin and wife skip bail and flee to London.

August 26 - Thousands of PAD protesters storm Government House, Samak's official compound, in attempt to unseat him.

September 2 - Samak declares a state of emergency in Bangkok after one person is killed and 45 hurt in clashes.

September 9 - Samak found guilty of violating constitution by hosting TV cooking shows while in office and he has to quit.

September 17 - Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law at the time, is elected prime minister by parliament.

October 21 - The Supreme Court sentences Thaksin to two years in jail in absentia for breaking a conflict-of-interest law.

November 25 - PAD protesters storm Bangkok's main airport halting all flights. Up to 250,000 foreign tourists are stranded.

December 2 - Constitutional Court disbands the PPP, bans Somchai from politics for five years. PAD protesters say they will end blockade of Bangkok's two airports on December 3 after the ruling.

Dec 15 - Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, an Oxford-educated economist, becomes third prime minister in as many months. About 200 red-shirted demonstrators block access to parliament, accusing him of being a stooge of the military.

March 26, 2009 - Red-shirted Thaksin supporters start a blockade of Government House.

April 10 - The red shirts target an ASEAN summit in the beach town of Pattaya.

April 11 - ASEAN summit canceled after protesters overwhelm riot troops and storm part of the conference venue. Some of the 15 visiting leaders are evacuated by helicopter.

April 12 - Abhisit declares a state of emergency in Bangkok. About 50 protesters force their way into the interior ministry with Abhisit inside. He escapes. Phoning his supporters at Government House, exiled Thaksin calls for a "people's revolution," says he would lead an uprising if there was a coup.

April 13 - Army cracks down on protests in Bangkok; 77 people reported injured in clashes.

Source: Reuters

(Writing by Bangkok bureau, Gillian Murdoch and David Cutler; Editing by Alan Raybould and Sanjeev Miglani)