Mali faces a political, humanitarian and cultural crisis following a military coup and the rapid rebel takeover of its north. Soldiers ousted President Amadou Toumani Touré in late March, saying his government had mishandled a Tuareg insurgency. The coup created a power vacuum that enabled rebels to seize the key northern towns of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, raising fears that the country could be divided.

The forces in the north have different aims. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) seeks an independent Tuareg state, while the Islamist group Ansar Dine wants to impose Islamic law within Mali. Residents reported that Islamist fighters had ransacked bars, banned Western music from local radio and told people in Timbuktu to follow Islamic law. Civilians in the central town of Mopti were reported to be fleeing for fear of a further advance.

West African leaders, concerned about instability across the Sahel, have demanded a return to civilian rule. After the junta failed to meet a 72-hour deadline, regional governments imposed sanctions, closed borders and froze Mali’s account at the regional central bank. The African Union also imposed sanctions. Junta leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo said the army would remain in power while consulting political groups on a transition and elections in which the military would not participate. A junta negotiator said the MNLA was open to talks, but an MNLA spokesman said it did not recognize Sanogo and would negotiate only with a recognized authority.

The embargo threatens a country that imports all its fuel. Long lines formed at Bamako petrol stations as residents and businesses stocked up. Fuel shortages could disrupt transport, irrigation and electricity generation during the hot season, when low water levels limit hydropower. The bank freeze also raised doubts about the government’s ability to pay civil servants.

The conflict has intensified an existing food crisis caused by drought: aid agencies say 13 million people across the region need food assistance. Since January, violence has uprooted more than 200,000 people, about half of whom have fled Mali, according to the UN refugee agency.

UNESCO has also warned that fighting threatens Timbuktu’s World Heritage architecture and its ancient manuscripts. The city’s mosques, cemeteries and manuscript collections testify to its history as a center of Islamic scholarship and African literary and scientific knowledge. The takeover could interrupt preservation work and restrict access to the collections. The UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis.