Mali faces a deepening political, security and humanitarian crisis after soldiers overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré in March. The junta said it acted because the government had mishandled a Tuareg rebellion, but the coup created a power vacuum that allowed rebels to seize much of northern Mali, including the major towns of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu.

The rebel groups have different aims. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) seeks an independent Tuareg homeland in the north, while Ansar Dine, an Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda’s North African branch, wants to impose Islamic law while keeping Mali united. Residents have reported that Islamist fighters ransacked bars, banned Western music from local radio and told people in Timbuktu to follow Islamic law. Some civilians in the central town of Mopti have fled for fear of a further advance.

Junta leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo has said the military will remain in power but promises to consult political groups on a transition leading to elections in which the junta will not participate. The prospects for negotiations with the rebels remain uncertain: a representative of the junta said the MNLA was open to talks, while an MNLA spokesman said the group had no direct contact with the junta and did not recognize Sanogo.

West African leaders, concerned that Mali’s collapse could destabilize the wider Sahel, have demanded a return to civilian rule. After a deadline expired, the regional bloc imposed sanctions, closing borders and freezing Mali’s account at the regional central bank. The African Union also imposed sanctions. The measures threaten severe hardship in landlocked Mali, which imports all its fuel. Long queues formed at petrol stations as residents and farmers stocked up; shortages could disrupt irrigation and electricity generation during the hot season. The bank freeze also raised doubts about payment of public-sector salaries.

The fighting has intensified an existing regional food emergency following drought. The UN refugee agency said violence since January had displaced more than 200,000 people, including about 100,000 who fled Mali, while aid agencies warned that 13 million people in Mali and neighboring countries needed food assistance.

UNESCO has also warned that the fighting threatens Timbuktu’s World Heritage sites, including its distinctive mud-and-wood mosques and cemeteries. The city holds hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts documenting Africa’s literary, scientific and intellectual history. The takeover could interrupt preservation work and restrict access to the collections.