Timeline: Uganda's fitful path toward peace under Museveni

1986 After a five-year guerrilla war, Yoweri Museveni comes to power.

1991 Operation North is launched in a bid to achieve a final victory over northern rebel groups. It defeats - but does not entirely destroy - rebel forces.

1992 Northern rebel groups reorganize into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and begin operating from southern Sudan. Group aims to overthrow the government and set up a fundamentalist Christian regime.

1993 As a member of Uganda's parliament, Betty Bigombe initiates contact with rebel leader Joseph Kony. She is named Uganda's 'Woman of the Year.' Despite her meeting with Kony, the talks collapse in February 1994.

1994 Conflict develops an international dimension, as Sudan and Uganda accuse each other of supporting rebel groups. Rebels and government troops frequently cross borders.

1995 Sudan and Uganda cut diplomatic ties.

1995 Allied Democratic Front (ADF) is formed by supporters of the late dictators Idi Amin of Uganda and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire. From a base in Congo, the group fights for an Islamic state based on sharia law. LRA continues resistance in the north.

1996 Museveni holds presidential election and wins 75 percent of the vote.

1996 to 1999 Ugandan government forces parts of the northern population to move into 'protected villages' in order to sever support for the rebels. Insurgents ambush the camps on a regular basis.

1999 Relations between Uganda and Sudan are normalized after both governments sign the Nairobi Agreement. Ugandan government troops (UPDF), step up efforts to contain rebels.

1999 Museveni offers amnesty to the LRA's estimated 4,000 fighters.

2000 LRA splits into two factions: one willing to negotiate with the government, and one determined to fight on. Cooperation between Uganda and Sudan - a traditional backer of the LRA - puts greater strains on the LRA.

2002 ADF resistance dries up. Affiliated groups in the southwest are crushed by government troops.

2004 LRA rebels slaughter more than 200 people at a refugee camp in the north. Betty Bigombe returns to Uganda to mediate.

2004 The first face-to-face meetings take place with LRA leaders in northern Uganda.

2005 Lack of a clear LRA political agenda leads to a breakdown in negotiations in March. Cease-fire ends.

Sources: International Institute for Strategic Studies - Armed Conflict Database; BBC.