Here is a timeline of key events this year during the eight months of conflict in Libya.
FEBRUARY 15 - 19 Inspired by revolts in other Arab countries, including neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, a rebellion erupts in Benghazi, Libya's second city.
MARCH 19 - With troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi threatening rebel-held Benghazi, French, US and British forces launch UN-mandated air strikes and push them back.
MARCH 31 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) takes over formal command of the military operation.
APRIL 20 - France and Italy join Britain in sending military advisers to assist the rebels.
MAY 1 - Gaddafi escapes a NATO air strike, which the regime says kills his youngest son, Seif al-Arab, and three grandchildren.
JUNE 29 - France says it has air-dropped weapons to rebel forces.
JULY 15 - In Istanbul, the Contact Group designates the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya's legitimate rulers, paving the way for the release of frozen Gaddafi regime assets.
JULLY 28 - Rebel military chief General Abdel Fatah Yunis assassinated in the east as insurgent fighters pound forces loyal to Gaddafi in the west.
AUGUST 10 - EU widens sanctions against the regime.
AUGUST 23 - Rebels overrun Gaddafi's fortified headquarters in Tripoli after heavy fighting. They find no trace of the strongman or his sons.
SEPTEMBER 1 - In Paris, the UN and major powers unblock $US15 billion in frozen Libyan assets in return for the promise of a democratic transition.
SEPTEMBER 9 - World police body Interpol calls for the arrest of Gaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi for alleged crimes against humanity, following a request by the International Criminal Court.
SEPTEMBER 12: Niger says 32 members of Gaddafi's inner circle, including his son Saadi, have arrived in Niger.
SEPTEMBER15 - Britain's David Cameron and France's Nicolas Sarkozy visit Libya. NTC fighters launch their assault on Gaddafi's hometown Sirte.
SEPTEMBER 16 - The UN gives Libya's UN seat to the NTC.
SEPTEMBER 20 - US President Barack Obama meets Libya's interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil. Jalil says 25,000 have been killed during the uprising.
SEPTEMBER 21 - Libya's new rulers declare victory in the battle for the key southern city of Sabha, but suffer heavy losses in their offensive on Sirte.
OCTOBER 9 - The new regime forces seize key targets in Sirte, including the Mediterranean city's showpiece conference centre, university and hospital.
OCTOBER 13 - Parts of Libya's airspace reopens to commercial flights. Libyan gas supplies to Italy through the Greenstream pipeline resume.
OCTOBER 14 - NTC forces in clashes with Gaddafi's supporters in the capital.
OCTOBER 15: Gaddafi loyalists mount a fierce counter-attack in Sirte, forcing back new regime fighters.
OCTOBER 17: Gaddafi holdout Bani Walid to the southeast of Tripoli is completely liberated, the NTC commander announces.
OCTOBER -18: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes a surprise visit to Tripoli.
OCTOBER 19 - Interim prime minister Mahmud Jibril warns politicking among the former rebels risks plunging the country into chaos.
OCTOBER 20 - Gaddafi captured - initially it's reported he's been seriously wounded; later an NTC official announces that Gaddafi's dead. Field commanders say Sirte is entirely liberated.
