A military coup in Mali has deepened a rebellion in the north, prompted regional sanctions and raised fears for the country’s future. Soldiers who ousted President Amadou Toumani Touré in March said they were responding to his government’s poor handling of the Tuareg insurgency. Instead, the power vacuum in Bamako allowed rebels to advance rapidly and seize the northern towns of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu.

The rebel forces have different aims. The Tuareg-led National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad seeks an independent northern state, while the Islamist group Ansar Dine wants to impose Islamic law within Mali. Residents reported that Islamist fighters had ransacked bars, banned alcohol and Western music, and instructed people to follow Islamic law. Civilians fled south toward Mopti as the rebels advanced. Since January, violence had displaced more than 200,000 people, including about 100,000 who fled the country.

West African leaders, concerned that Mali’s collapse could destabilize the region, demanded a return to constitutional rule. After the junta failed to meet a deadline, the Economic Community of West African States imposed sanctions, closing borders and freezing Mali’s account at the regional central bank. The African Union also joined the sanctions. Junta leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo said the army would remain in power but promised consultations on a transition body and democratic elections.

The embargo quickly caused anxiety in landlocked Mali, which depends on fuel trucked in from neighboring countries. Long lines formed at petrol stations as drivers and farmers stocked up. Fuel shortages threatened irrigation and diesel generators, which help supply electricity during the hot season when low water levels limit hydropower. The frozen bank account also raised questions about whether civil servants would be paid.

The fighting threatens Timbuktu’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, including its distinctive mud-and-wood mosques and cemeteries. The city is also home to hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts documenting Africa’s literary, scientific and Islamic scholarship. UNESCO called for their protection, while the takeover threatened preservation and digitization work.

The political and security crisis has compounded a wider humanitarian emergency: aid agencies warned that drought had left 13 million people in Mali and neighboring countries needing food assistance.