A day after Mali's northern city of Timbuktu fell to Tuareg rebels [2] of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), it is now reported that Ansar Dine, an Islamist faction that had been cooperating with the rebels, has seized control there, raising its black flag at prominent points. Reports indicate a patchwork of loosely allied factions occupying the city, their ranks swelled by Tuareg and Arab defectors from Mali's army. Gao, the other major northern city, also fell to the rebels over the weekend. (See map [3]) (AP [4], BBC News [5], April 2; RFI [6], April 1)
At an emergency ECOWAS summit in Senegal, West African governments agreed to slap sanctions on the junta that has seized power in Bamako, Mali's capital, and to seal the country's borders. (AP [7], April 2) Amnesty International protested attacks by plainclothes thugs on protesters calling for the reinstatement of the country's constitution. Coup leader Cpt. Amadou Sanogo pledged to launch a national dialogue. (AI [8], March 29) The junta did announce a restoration of the suspended constitution in response to the pressure. (RFI [6], April 1)
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