BAMAKO, Mali, April 2 (UPI) -- African leaders said they were going ahead with sanctions on Mali despite efforts by junta leaders to stave off external diplomatic pressure.
Soldiers, calling themselves the National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy, overthrew President Amadou Toumani Toure and dissolved the government and other institutions of power in the West African nation March 22.
The Economic Community of West African States has condemned the coup, threatening to close land borders, freeze Mali's assets and impose a financial blockade if the military didn't step aside Monday.
Coup leaders during the weekend vowed to return power to the civilian government but the lack of a deadline prompted ECOWAS to move forward with sanctions, Voice of America reports. ECOWAS leaders said they believed many of the statements coming from junta leaders were "propaganda."
The separatist Tuareg rebel movement in Mali took control of Timbuktu during the weekend. An unidentified resident told the BBC that a local militia was prepared to defend the town from the Tuareg separatists demanding their own swath of land in the north.
Coup backers said the deposed president wasn't effectively addressing emerging national security challengers.
Tuareg rebels had fought alongside former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
