CHRONOLOGY-Recent events in the conflict in Chad

Feb 5 (Reuters) - France threw its weight behind Chad's President Idriss Deby on Tuesday, saying it could intervene against armed rebels who said they would only stop fighting if Deby quit.

After obtaining backing from the U.N. Security Council for Deby's government, French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned the rebels France would "do its duty" and had the means to respond to an unlawful attack against its former colony.

Chad has accused Sudan of supporting an offensive from the east by the rebels, who stormed into the capital of the oil-producing central African country at the weekend before withdrawing. Khartoum denies backing the rebels.

Here is a chronology of recent events in Chad.



Dec 19, 2005 - Chad's army says its forces killed about 300 rebels when rebel forces launched an unsuccessful offensive against the border town of Adre.

-- Dec 30 - Chad rebel groups opposed to Deby say they have formed a military alliance, the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC), to try to overthrow him.

Feb 8, 2006 - Chad and Sudan agree to put an end to a dispute between the two neighbours, which accuse each other of backing insurgents hostile to the other. The Tripoli Agreement between Deby and President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan is reached at the end of mini-summit hosted in Tripoli by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

-- March 21 - Government troops in Chad launch an offensive against rebels in the east as Deby tries to reassert his control over the country.

-- April 13 - Government forces fight off rebels who attack the capital N'Djamena. The fighting is estimated to have killed several hundred people.

-- April 14 - Deby breaks off diplomatic relations with Sudan which he accuses of backing armed groups that have carried out attacks across Chad, including the raid on the capital.

-- May 3 - Deby wins re-election for a third term.

Feb 1, 2007 - Rebels fighting to overthrow Deby launch a short-lived attack on Adre, on the border with Darfur, before being beaten back.

Feb 22 - At a conference in Libya, leaders of Sudan and Chad pledge to double efforts to end border violence fuelled by Darfur's conflict, concluding their third agreement in a year.

May 3 - Sudan and Chad sign a Saudi-brokered reconciliation deal in Riyadh, requiring both sides to cooperate with the United Nations to stabilise Darfur and the adjacent region in Chad.

Sept 25 - The U.N. Security Council authorises the deployment of a European Union peacekeeping force and U.N. police to eastern Chad to help protect civilians suffering from the spill-over of violence from neighbouring Darfur.

Oct 25 - Chad and four Sudan-based Chadian rebel groups sign a "definitive peace accord" in Libya. The deal, which aims to end more than two years of fighting, includes an immediate ceasefire. At least two groups later abandoned the accord.

Dec 20 - Deby warns his people they risk civil war unless they unite behind him to combat eastern rebels he says are being recruited and paid by Sudan. The warning follows fierce desert battles in late November and early December between government forces and insurgents on the border near Darfur.

Jan 28, 2008 - EU ministers give the green light to the deployment of 3,700 peacekeepers to eastern Chad with a U.N. mandate to protect 420,000 refugees and aid operations.

Feb 2 - Rebels surround the presidential palace in N'Djamena after storming into the capital.

Feb 3 - After two days of confused fighting in the capital, the rebels withdraw. The government says its troops beat them back.

-- Chad's army says it repulsed an assault by Sudanese Army troops and rebels on the border town of Adre.

Feb 4 - A non-binding U.N. Security Council statement urges the international community to support Deby, giving the green light to France to answer Chad's appeals for foreign aid.

Feb 5 - Rebels say they will agree to a ceasefire only if Deby steps down. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)