TIMELINE: Ethiopia says it will leave Somalia

(Reuters) - Ethiopia said Friday it would withdraw its troops from Somalia by the end of this year, piling pressure on Somalia's feuding government and African nations that have promised to send peacekeepers.

Here is a timeline of events since Islamists first seized the capital, Mogadishu:

June 2006 - The Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) seizes Mogadishu from U.S.-backed warlords and takes control of parts of southern Somalia.

December 28 - Islamists flee Mogadishu ahead of a joint Ethiopian and Somali government force which captures the city.

January 8, 2007 - Abdullahi Yusuf arrives in Mogadishu for the first time since he became president in 2004.

August 30 - Yusuf winds up a six-week-long peace conference, which has no visible impact on growing insurgency. Islamists and some other opposition figures boycotted the talks.

March 26, 2008 - Islamist fighters seize Jowhar, the most significant of several towns recently captured.

May, 1 - U.S. air strike kills al Shabaab leader Aden Hashi Ayro.

August 18 - Somalia formally signs peace deal with some opposition figures, but the pact is rejected by hardliners.

August 22 - Al Shabaab insurgents seize Kismayu, a strategic southern port, after fighting that killed 70 people.

August 25 - U.N.'s Food Security Analysis Unit says more than 3.2 million people need humanitarian aid.

September 16 - Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization, based in Mogadishu, says almost 9,500 people have been killed since early 2007.

October 3 - Islamists, now controlling swathes of southern Somalia, warn Western charities working there not to meddle in their affairs.

November 12 - Rebels take port of Merka, 90 km (56 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, after government-aligned militia leave.

November 14 - Al Shabaab fighters move into Elasha town near Sinkadheer, where Ethiopian troops are based. Sinkadheer is 15 km (9 miles) south-west of Mogadishu.

November 15 - Somali pirates seize the Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker, the biggest ship ever hijacked. They are still holding it.