Mali faces a deepening political, security and humanitarian crisis after a military coup ousted President Amadou Toumani Touré in March. Soldiers who seized power said the government had mishandled a Tuareg rebellion in the north, but the coup created a power vacuum that allowed rebels to advance rapidly. They captured the major northern towns of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, raising fears that the country could be divided.

The forces in the north have different aims. The Tuareg-led National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) seeks an independent state, while the Islamist group Ansar Dine wants to impose Islamic law while keeping the territory within Mali. Residents reported that Islamist fighters had ransacked bars, banned Western music on local radio and told people in Timbuktu to follow Islamic law. Some civilians fled the central town of Mopti amid fears of an advance farther south. The UN refugee agency said violence since January had displaced more than 200,000 people, about half of whom had fled Mali.

West African leaders, concerned about the consequences for the wider Sahel, demanded a return to constitutional rule. After a deadline expired, the Economic Community of West African States imposed sanctions, including border closures and the freezing of Mali’s account at the regional central bank. The African Union also imposed sanctions. Junta leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo said the military would not immediately leave power but promised consultations on a transition body and democratic elections in which the junta would not participate.

The embargo threatens severe hardship in landlocked Mali, which imports all its fuel. Long lines formed at filling stations as residents and farmers stocked up; fuel shortages could disrupt irrigation and electricity generation during the hot season. The frozen account also raised doubts about payment of civil servants’ salaries. Meanwhile, a junta negotiator said the MNLA was willing to discuss the country’s future, although a rebel spokesman denied direct contact and said negotiations required a recognized counterpart.

UNESCO warned that the fighting endangered Timbuktu’s World Heritage architecture, including its historic mosques and cemeteries. The city also holds hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts documenting a rich literary and scientific heritage, and the takeover could disrupt efforts to preserve them. The conflict has compounded a regional drought-driven food crisis, with aid agencies warning that 13 million people need food assistance.