Mali's neighbors have threatened to use sanctions and a readiness to use military force to dislodge those behind last week's coup, urging them to quickly hand back power to civilian rulers.
A summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Tuesday agreed to send a team of heads of state to confront the putschists in the coming days.
The delegation would be made up of the leaders of Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Liberia, the bloc said in a statement after its meeting in the Ivorian economic capital of Abidjan.
"The summit authorizes preparations for a force under stand-by for ECOWAS to deal with any eventuality," the statement said, which also threatened possible travel bans and financial and diplomatic sanctions on junta members.
The statement did not any include indications of possible army action on the ground and the bloc, which does not have its own standing army, would have to go through potentially lengthy processes to raise sufficient troops from member states.
The one-day meeting suspended Mali from all decision-making bodies of the bloc in a widely expected diplomatic gesture. France, the EU and the United States have all cut off most of their aid.
Long-standing crisis
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, army officer Amadou Sanogo defended the coup he led, saying the president he deposed had failed the country.
Sanogo also blamed the toppled government for not doing enough to deal with Tuareg fighters in the north.
"What drove us to end the rule of President Amadou Touare is the long-standing crisis in the north; the armed gangs are killing people and it became very difficult for the developmental program to succeed, which left the army in a disastrous situation," Sanogo said.
"We’ve set up a technical team to look into possible solutions for the crisis in the north. War and military confrontation is not the preferred choice, and those in the north are our brothers and they can sit with us at the negotiating table," Sanogo said.
Despite facing widespread criticism for the coup, Sanogo said he hoped the international community would accept the reasons for the takeover.
"We will send representatives to international organizations, as well as to friendly countries, to explain the goals that drove us to carry this out," Sanogo said.
Pledge on law and rights
Late on Tuesday, the junta announced the adoption of a new "fundamental act" designed to guarantee the rule of law in "a pluralist democracy".
The junta, which suspended the existing constitution, said in a statement read out by a soldier on state television that the new document guaranteed basic human rights.
The statement also said that members of the junta will not be allowed to stand in legislative and presidential elections.
The new rulers have not set a date for elections but have lifted the curfew that has been in place since last week's coup.
PHOTO CAPTION
Coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo, second right, is ushered rapidly inside as he arrives at his headquarters at a military base in Kati, outside Bamako, Mali Tuesday, March 27, 2012.
Al-Jazeera