Timeline: Syrian protests, crackdown and peace talks

(Reuters) - Following is a timeline of events in Syria since protests began:

March 16 - Security forces break up a gathering in Marjeh Square in Damascus of 150 protesters holding pictures of imprisoned relatives. Witnesses say 30 people are arrested.

March 24 - President Bashar al-Assad orders the formation of a committee to study how to raise living standards and lift the law covering emergency rule, in place for 48 years.

March 29 - Government resigns.

April 3 - Assad asks Adel Safar, a former agriculture minister, to form a new government.

April 8 - Demonstrators protest across Syria; 22 people killed in Deraa, another 15 elsewhere, rights group says.

April 14 - Assad presents a new cabinet and orders the release of detainees arrested during a month of protests.

April 19 - Government passes bill lifting emergency rule. Assad ratifies this two days later.

April 22 - Security forces and gunmen loyal to Assad kill at least 100 protesters, a rights group says.

April 29 - U.S. imposes new sanctions on prominent Syrians.

May 10 - European Union sanctions come into effect on up to 13 Syrian officials for their part in the crackdown. The EU adds Assad and nine other senior members of the government on May 23.

June 4 - In the town of Jisr al-Shughour, between the coastal city of Latakia and Aleppo, at least 120 members of the security forces are killed, state television says.

June 20 - In his third speech since protests began, Assad pledges to pursue a national dialogue on reform.

June 27 - Syrian intellectuals call for sweeping political change at a rare conference allowed by the authorities. The government also announces it will invite opposition figures to talks on July 10 for a dialogue promised by Assad.

July 8 - Thousands rally in Hama calling for Assad to go; U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford and French Ambassador Eric Chevallier visit the city to show support for protesters.

July 10 - Opposition groups boycott talks with the government and will not negotiate until Assad ends crackdown.

July 31 - Syrian tanks storm Hama, residents say, after besieging it for nearly a month. At least 80 people are killed.

August 7 - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah recalls his ambassador from Syria. Kuwait recalls its envoy the next day.

August 9 - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu holds talks with Assad on ending the violence. A Turkish envoy to Syria visits Hama on August 10 and says tanks have been withdrawn. Rights groups say up to 300 people have been killed in Hama.

August 17 - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, calling Assad, expresses alarm at reports of violations of human rights. Assad says military operations have stopped, the U.N. says.

August 18 - U.S. President Barack Obama for the first time calls on Assad to step down.

August 21 - In an interview on state television, Assad says he expects parliamentary elections in February 2012 after reforms that will let groups other than his Baath party take part.

September 2 - The European Union imposes a ban on purchases of Syrian oil and warns of further steps unless crackdown ends.

September 10 - Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby, in talks with Assad in Damascus, says he has agreed a series of measures with Assad to help end violence.

September 15 - Syrian opposition activists, meeting in Istanbul, announce the members of a Syrian National Council to provide an alternative to Assad's government

October 2 - Syria's main opposition groups call on the international community to take action to protect people facing the crackdown, a statement, issued in Istanbul on behalf of the newly formed National Council, says.

October 4 - Russia and China join forces and veto a European-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria.

October 7 - Syria says a national investigation is under way into killings, including those of 1,100 security forces. It denies allegations that troops shot soldiers who refused to fire on protesters.

October 14 - The United Nations says the death toll from the unrest has reached 3,000, including at least 187 children.

October 19 - Libya's National Transitional Council recognizes the opposition Syrian National Council as the country's legitimate authority.

October 24 - The U.S. pulls its ambassador out of Syria because of threats to his safety.

October 26 - The city of Homs goes on strike to protest against the intensifying military crackdown.

October 31 - NATO rules out the possibility of intervention in Syria but says Damascus should draw lessons from Libya.

November 2 - Syria agrees to an Arab League plan to withdraw its army from cities, release political prisoners and hold talks with the opposition. The next day activists say security forces killed 11 people in Homs.

November 5 - Activists and residents say tank fire has killed at least 13 civilians and wounded dozens in Homs, casting doubt on whether the Arab League plan can end the bloodshed.

-- Elaraby says the failure of an Arab plan for Syria will lead to catastrophic results.

Nov 6 - Syrian forces kill at least 45 people over the last three days in a continued military crackdown. Qatar's prime minister calls for Arab states to meet on November 12 to discuss Syria's failure to enact the Arab plan.

(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)