TIMELINE: Peace deal signed in DRC to end years of fighting

(Reuters) - Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda signed a peace pact on Wednesday with the government and Mai Mai militia to end fighting in the east of the country.

Here is a chronology of the conflict in the DRC in the last 10 years:

August 1998 - Rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda take up arms against Congolese President Laurent Kabila.

-- Rebels make major gains. Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola send troops to help Kabila and halt rebels at Kinshasa.

July 1999 - Six African governments involved in the war sign a ceasefire deal in Zambian capital Lusaka. Rebels ignore it.

August - Rwanda and Uganda join fighting between rebel factions but by month-end the two countries agree to a truce and both the Ugandan-backed MLC and the Rwandan-backed RCD rebels sign the ceasefire deal.

Feb 2000 - U.N. Security Council authorizes 5,500-member force to monitor the ceasefire, but clashes persist.

May - Heavy fighting between Rwanda and Uganda in eastern Congo. Three months later Hutu militiamen responsible for Rwanda's 1994 genocide attack Rwanda from Congolese territory.

August - Lusaka peace summit collapses, fighting goes on.

Jan 2001 - Kabila shot dead by bodyguard in Kinshasa and replaced by son Joseph who promises to revive peace process.

Feb - Joseph Kabila meets Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Rwanda, Uganda and rebel groups back disengagement plan.

2002 - Uganda reinforces its troops in northeast Congo after hundreds die in ethnic clashes. Zimbabwe withdraws some troops and Angola says it has pulled out altogether.

April - South African President Thabo Mbeki submits proposals to break the deadlock. Kabila and MLC rebels agree on new government. Rwandan-backed rebels reject the deal.

July - Presidents of Rwanda and the DRC sign peace pact in Pretoria, foreseeing the withdrawal of Rwandan troops.

Dec 17 - Congo's warring factions sign peace deal in Pretoria after a month of talks.

April 2, 2003 - Factions sign deal creating interim constitution and a transitional government.