Sept 1 (Reuters) - Here is a timeline of the civil war in Libya since protests against Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule began in February:
Feb. 15/16, 2011 - The arrest of human rights activist Fethi Tarbel sparks a riot in Benghazi, Quryna newspaper reports.
Feb. 24 - Anti-government militias take control of central coastal city of Misrata after evicting forces loyal to Gaddafi.
Feb. 26 - The U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions on Gaddafi and his family, and refers Libya's crackdown on rebels to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Feb. 28 - EU governments approve a package of sanctions against Gaddafi and his closest advisers including an arms embargo and bans on travel to the bloc.
March 5 - The rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) in Benghazi declares itself the sole representative for Libya.
March 10 - France recognises the NTC as legitimate representative of Libya's people. Libya suspends diplomatic relations with France the next day.
March 17 - The U.N. Security Council votes to authorise a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" -- code for military action -- to protect civilians against Gaddafi's army.
March 19 - The first air strikes halt the advance of Gaddafi's forces on Benghazi and target Libya's air defences.
March 28 - Qatar becomes the first Arab country to recognise Libya's rebels as the people's legitimate representatives.
March 29 - A London conference of 40 governments and organisations agrees to set up a contact group comprising 20 countries to coordinate efforts in a post-Gaddafi Libya.
March 30 - Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa defects and flies to Britain.
April 30 - A NATO missile attack on a house in Tripoli kills Gaddafi's youngest son and three grandchildren.
June 1 - Libya's top oil official Shokri Ghanem appears in Rome, saying he has defected because of the bloodshed.
June 27 - The ICC issues arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.
July 15 - The NTC wins U.S. recognition as the legitimate government of Libya at a meeting in Turkey of the contact group.
July 27 - Rebels win diplomatic recognition from Britain, which also expels the remaining Gaddafi diplomats from London.
July 28 - Abdel Fattah Younes, Gaddafi's former interior minister who defected to the rebels on Feb. 22 and became their military chief, is killed in mysterious circumstances.
Aug. 14 - Libyan rebels take Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, cutting the coastal highway to Tunisia that keeps the capital supplied with food and fuel.
Aug. 21 - Rebels enter Tripoli with little resistance.
-- Gaddafi makes audio addresses over state television calling on Libyans to fight off the rebel "rats".
-- Libyan rebels say they have detained three of Gaddafi's sons, including Saif al-Islam, wanted for war crimes.
Aug. 22 - Libyan government tanks and snipers put up last-ditch resistance in Tripoli as rebels sweep into its heart.
Aug. 23 - Saif al Islam surfaces in Tripoli to prove he remains free.
-- The rebels overrun Gaddafi's fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli trashing the symbols of his rule.
Aug. 25 - Gaddafi, in audio speech broadcast on loyalist TV channels, calls on supporters to "purify" the capital of rebels.
Aug. 29 - Algeria announces that Gaddafi's wife, two of his sons and his daughter have crossed into its territory.
Aug. 30 - The NTC says they are almost certain that Gaddafi's son Khamis was killed on Aug. 27.
Aug. 31 - Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, in a statement on a Syrian-owned TV channel, promises a war of attrition.
Sept 1 - Libya's interim rulers meet world leaders at a conference in Paris to discuss reshaping Libya.
-- The NTC gives pro-Gaddafi forces in Sirte until Sept. 10 to surrender or face a military assault.
-- However Gaddafi, on the 42nd anniversary of his coming to power, urges his supporters to fight on. (Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;)
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