BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Sunday that the country's National Defense Forces (NDF) were forced into war against Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) after the group declared holy war on Ethiopia.

    The following is a brief chronology of Somali events since 1960.

    Somalia is the eastern most country in the Horn of Africa, which is part of the Somali Peninsula in the very northeast of the African continent. It has a population of 10 million and an area of 638,000 sq km.

    1960 -- The Somali people get independent of British colonial rule and found the Somali Republic.

    1969 -- Maj. Ge. Mohamed Siad Barre of the Somali Army comes to power in a coup and declares the founding of the Somali Democratic Republic.

    Jan. 1991 -- Barre's regime is overthrown and the country plunges into tribal conflicts.

    Jan. 1992 -- The U.N. adopts a sweeping weapons embargo against Somalia in a bid to help bring the conflicts to an end.

    Jan. 2004 -- There is a breakthrough in peace talks as all parties in the conflict reach an agreement in Nairobi on forming an interim government.

    Dec. 2004 -- The interim government comes into power in Nairobi and moves to Somalia in June 2005. But it lacks the power to effectively bring domestic chaos under control.

    June 2006 -- The UIC defeats the alliance of warlords and takes the capital Mogadishu. It further seizes most of the middle and southern regions in the following days.

    Nov. 2006 -- The peace negotiations, which began in late June, breaks down after the UIC accuses Ethiopia of backing the interim government by sending troops in.

    Dec. 12, 2006 -- The UIC urges the Ethiopian troops to withdraw within seven days or face war.

    Dec. 20, 2006 -- The UIC stages attacks on the interim government.