In this Friday, April 6, 2012 photo, men carry a Malian flag as they march in support of the populations of Mali's north, in Bamako, Mali. Ethnic Tuareg rebels took advantage of recent post-coup chaos to make military gains, seizing the capitals of the three northern provinces last week. On Friday, they declared independence, stating that the northern half of Mali - an area larger than France - was now a new country.
In this Friday, April 6, 2012 photo, youth carry a banner reading 'We want to liberate the North with or without arms. The North doesn't deserve this,' as they march in support of the populations of Mali's occupied northern territories, in Bamako, Mali. Ethnic Tuareg rebels took advantage of recent post-coup chaos to make military gains, seizing the capitals of the three northern provinces last week. On Friday, they declared independence, stating that the northern half of Mali - an area larger than France - was now a new country.
Dioncounda Traore, Mali's parliamentary head who was forced into exile after last month's coup, stands at the top of the airplane steps as he disembarks on arrival at the airport to take up his constitutionally-mandated post as interim president, in Bamako, Mali Saturday, April 7, 2012. Traore's return comes after coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo signed an accord late Friday, agreeing to return the nation to constitutional rule.
Coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo, left, stands with Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibrill Bassole, right, as they address the media at junta headquarters in Kati, outside Bamako, Mali Friday, April 6, 2012. Under intense pressure from the nations bordering Mali, Sanogo, the junior officer who seized control of the country in a coup last month signed an accord agreeing to return the country to constitutional rule. The announcement was made late Friday, only hours after separatist rebels in the country's distant north declared their independence.
ATTENTION FRENCH CLIENTS - EMBARGOED, RELEASABLE IN FRANCE ON APRIL 6, 2012 AT 18h30GMT. THIS RESTRICTION APPLIES TO ALL MEDIA, EXCEPT WEBSITES, IN FRANCE AND FRENCH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES TV grab shows a burning bar on April 3, 2012 in Timbuktu. Mali's National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) rebels declared independence on April 6, 2012 in the north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two, as warnings rang out of a humanitarian disaster in what was once considered Africa's democratic success story. MNLA, captured northern Mali with Islamist groups over the past two weeks following a coup in the capital. AFP PHOTO / AFPTV / FRANCE 2 (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
Coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo, right, shakes hands with Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibrill Bassole, after signing an accord agreeing to return the country to constitutional rule, in Sanogo's office at junta headquarters in Kati, outside Bamako, Mali Friday, April 6, 2012. Under intense pressure from the nations bordering Mali, Sanogo, the junior officer who seized control of the country in a coup last month signed an accord agreeing to return the country to constitutional rule. The announcement was made late Friday, only hours after separatist rebels in the country's distant north declared their independence.
ATTENTION FRENCH CLIENTS - EMBARGOED, RELEASABLE IN FRANCE ON APRIL 6, 2012 AT 18h30GMT. THIS RESTRICTION APPLIES TO ALL MEDIA, INCLUDING WEBSITES IN FRANCE AND FRENCH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES TV grab shows a pick up truck with the Salafist flag, carrying supporters of the Islamist group Ansar Dine, on April 3, 2012 in Timbuktu. Mali's National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) rebels declared independence on April 6, 2012 in the north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two, as warnings rang out of a humanitarian disaster in what was once considered Africa's democratic success story. MNLA, captured northern Mali with Islamist groups over the past two weeks following a coup in the capital. AFP PHOTO / AFPTV / FRANCE 2 (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
ATTENTION FRENCH CLIENTS - EMBARGOED, RELEASABLE IN FRANCE ON APRIL 6, 2012 AT 18h30GMT. THIS RESTRICTION APPLIES TO ALL MEDIA, INCLUDING WEBSITES IN FRANCE AND FRENCH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES TV grab shows a pick up truck carrying fighters of the Islamist group Ansar Dine, on April 3, 2012 in Timbuktu. Mali's National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) rebels declared independence on April 6, 2012 in the north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two, as warnings rang out of a humanitarian disaster in what was once considered Africa's democratic success story. MNLA, captured northern Mali with Islamist groups over the past two weeks following a coup in the capital. AFP PHOTO / AFPTV / FRANCE 2 (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
Dioncounda Traore, Mali's parliamentary head who was forced into exile after last month's coup, arrives at the airport to take up his constitutionally-mandated post as interim president, in Bamako, Mali Saturday, April 7, 2012. Traore's return comes after coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo signed an accord late Friday, agreeing to return the nation to constitutional rule.
Dioncounda Traore, second left, Mali's parliamentary head who was forced into exile after last month's coup, is greeted by junta representatives including spokesman Lt. Amadou Konare, center, as Traore arrives at the airport to take up his constitutionally-mandated post as interim president, in Bamako, Mali Saturday, April 7, 2012. Traore's return comes after coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo signed an accord late Friday agreeing to return the nation to constitutional rule.
Dioncounda Traore, center, Mali's parliamentary head who was forced into exile after last month's coup, walks with Burkina Faso's Foreign Affairs Minister Djibrill Bassole, right, as Traore arrives at the airport to take up his constitutionally-mandated post as interim president, in Bamako, Mali Saturday, April 7, 2012. Junta spokesman Lt. Amadou Konare, second right, looks on. Traore's return comes after coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo signed an accord late Friday, agreeing to return the nation to constitutional rule.
Dioncounda Traore, left, Mali's parliamentary head who was forced into exile after last month's coup, sits with junta representatives including spokesman Lt. Amadou Konare, third right, in Bamako, Mali Saturday, April 7, 2012. Traore's return comes after coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo signed an accord late Friday, agreeing to return the nation to constitutional rule. Mali's constitution says that in the event that the president of the republic is unable to carry out his functions, the head of the assembly becomes interim president for a transitional period until new elections are held.
Malian nationals arrive from the northern city of Gao on April 6, 2012 at the Bamako bus station after two days of travel. Mali's Tuareg rebels National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) today declared independence in he north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two, as warnings rang out of a looming humanitarian disaster in what was a democratic bastion in west Africa.
Malian nationals arrive from the northern city of Gao on April 6, 2012 at the Bamako bus station after two days of travel. Mali's Tuareg rebels National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) today declared independence in he north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two, as warnings rang out of a looming humanitarian disaster in what was a democratic bastion in west Africa.
Malian nationals arrive from the northern city of Gao on April 6, 2012 at the Bamako bus station after two days of travel. Mali's Tuareg rebels National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) today declared independence in he north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two, as warnings rang out of a looming humanitarian disaster in what was a democratic bastion in west Africa.
Malian nationals arrive from the northern city of Gao on April 6, 2012 at the Bamako bus station after two days of travel. Mali's Tuareg rebels National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) today declared independence in he north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two, as warnings rang out of a looming humanitarian disaster in what was a democratic bastion in west Africa.
Youth from North Mali stage a protest against the occupation of the North mali by Tuareg rebel fighters on April 6, 2012 in Bamako. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) , Mali's Tuareg rebels declared independence Friday in the north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two amid warnings the west African nation was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. (Placard reads : Save North Mali).
Youth from North Mali stage a protest against the occupation of the North mali by Tuareg rebel fighters on April 6, 2012 in Bamako. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) , Mali's Tuareg rebels declared independence Friday in the north, splitting the coup-wracked country in two amid warnings the west African nation was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. (Placard reads : A humanitarian corridor for North Mali).
Burkina Faso's Foreign Minsiter Djibril Bassole (L) leaves with Noute Ag Attia, the deputy of the Dire Cercle, in the Timbuktu region, north of Mali, after a meeting with ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) representives in Bamako on April 7, 2012. Mali's military junta and the West African bloc ECOWAS announced a deal late Friday that includes the lifting of sanctions and an amnesty for those involved in last month's coup.
Burkina Faso's Foreign Minsiter Djibril Bassole (L) listens to Noute Ag Attia (C), the deputy of the Dire Cercle, in the Timbuktu region, north of Mali, during a meeting with ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) representives in Bamako on April 7, 2012. Mali's military junta and the West African bloc ECOWAS announced a deal late Friday that includes the lifting of sanctions and an amnesty for those involved in last month's coup.
Mali's speaker of parliament Dioncounda Traore (2nd R, on stairs) follows Captain Amadou Sanogo (R) after they met on April 9, 2012 at the Kati military barracks outside Bamako. The man overseeing Mali's return to democratic rule met Monday with the army captain who seized power with other soldiers on March 22. Dioncounda Traore, who is Mali's speaker of parliament and will be the interim president under a power transfer deal agreed Friday, arrived at a military camp near the capital Bamako to meet with Captain Amadou Sanogo.
People from northern Mali march against the seizure or their home region by Tuareg and Islamist rebels, in the capital Bamako, April 10, 2012. Members of Mali's Arab community in the northern town of Timbuktu have formed an armed group to fill the void left by the army's retreat, adding to a host of factions already involved and extending the ethnic dimension of Mali's conflict. Residents in Timbuktu said the new group, known as the Azawad National Liberation Front, or FLNA, was essentially made up of members of an Arab militia that had been established to defend the town during an advance by Tuareg-led rebels.
A man rests between two bars at a stadium, where a rally was being held against the seizure of northern Mali by Tuareg and Islamist rebels, in the capital Bamako April 11, 2012. Since a military coup in Mali last month, nearly 80 percent of Malian territory comprising the northern regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal have come under the control of MNLA Tuareg rebels, who have declared an independent state in the north, and other armed Islamic groups.
A still image taken from AFPTV video footage released on April 11, 2012 shows people sleeping at a bus station in Gao on March 31, 2012 as they await transport to flee to the south after Mali's northern city was seized by Tuareg rebels backed by Islamist fighters after the army abandoned its positions. Gao, a city of 90,000 inhabitants, around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) northeast of Bamako, housed the headquarters of government forces for the entire northern region.
A still image of video footage released by AFPTV on April 11, 2012 shows shows people walking along a street as a plumb of smoke rises behind them in Gao on April 1, 2012 after Tuareg and Islamist fighter seized control of the key city and encircled the historic desert town of Timbuktu.'The MNLA (Azawad National Liberation Movement) has just ended Mali's occupation of the region of Gao by seizing and taking control of the city (Gao) this Saturday,' it said in a statement posted on its website. An interim leader was to take over from Mali's junta on April 12, 2012 and head a transition government that must claw back control of half the country now in the hands of Islamists and Tuareg rebels.
This still image released on April 11, 2012 taken from AFPTV video footage shows a general view of people picking up sacks of food in a street in Gao on April 1, 2012 after rebel fighters took control of the town. Mali has been gripped by chaos since a March 22 coup that led to the weakening of the army's northern positions and a subsequent rebel and Islamist capture of huge amounts of territory in the north.
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