TIMELINE: Kenya in crisis after disputed elections

(Reuters) - International mediators cannot afford to fail in Kenya, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Friday.

Annan has been leading efforts to end violence sparked by a disputed election in Kenya. Here is a short chronology of events since the December 27 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Dec 30, 2007 - The Electoral Commission declares Kibaki winner of the presidential election. He is hurriedly sworn in. Riots and looting break out in opposition strongholds.

-- Raila Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wins the most seats in the parliamentary election.

Jan 1, 2008 - A mob sets fire to a church, killing about 30 villagers from Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.

Jan 2 - The government accuses Odinga's backers of "ethnic cleansing" as the death toll from tribal violence rises.

Jan 4 - Kibaki says he will accept a re-run of the disputed election if a court orders it.

Jan 5 - Kibaki says he is ready to form a government of national unity, but the opposition rejects the offer.

Jan 7 - Odinga calls off planned protests after meeting U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer.

Jan 8 - Kibaki announces 17 ministers for his new cabinet. Protesters respond by building and burning barricades in Odinga's western stronghold, Kisumu.

-- John Kufuor, African Union chairman and president of Ghana, arrives in Nairobi to mediate.

Jan 10 - Kufuor leaves Kenya saying both sides have agreed to work together with an African panel headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Kibaki and Odinga, amid recriminations, have not met or agreed how to end the crisis.

Jan 15 - Parliament is convened and the opposition gets a boost by winning the post of speaker.

Jan 16 - Police fight hundreds of protesters throughout the country, as the opposition defies a ban on rallies.

Jan 17 - In Nairobi and the western towns of Kisumu and Eldoret, police fire teargas and bullets during rallies called by the opposition but banned by police.

Jan 22 - Ex-U.N. chief Kofi Annan arrives in Kenya to attempt mediation.

Jan 24 - Kibaki and Odinga meet in a breakthrough brokered by Annan.

Jan 25 - Annan denounces "gross and systematic" human rights abuses in Kenya after continuing post-election violence.

Jan 28 - More than 60 people are killed in four days of ethnic fighting in the Rift Valley towns of Nakuru and Naivasha.

-- Legislator Melitus Were is gunned down outside his home in Nairobi, triggering more rioting and ethnic killings.

Jan 29 - Annan launches formal mediation between the government and ODM, each side represented by a team of three -- a mix of moderates and hardliners.

Jan 31 - ODM member of parliament David Kimutai Too is killed in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.

Feb 1 - At the Africa Union summit in Ethiopia, Kibaki takes an uncompromising line repeatedly attacking the opposition and sticking to positions already rejected by Odinga.

Feb 4 - Annan brings Kenya's rival sides together again after weekend clashes.

-- South African anti-apartheid figure, Cyril Ramaphosa, proposed by Annan to lead long-term negotiations, pulls out after Nairobi complains he had business links with Odinga.

Feb 5 - The Red Cross says that the death toll from Kenya's bloodletting has risen to at least 1,000.

Feb 6 - The U.N. Security Council orders Kenya to immediately end violence, including ethnically motivated attacks and also to improve the humanitarian situation.

Feb 8 - Annan says there has been signs of compromise from both sides in talks but they need to move further.