 Malians lined up outside gas stations holding jerrycans, water bottles and plastic jugs, as the landlocked West African nation braced itself Tuesday for sanctions imposed overnight as a consequence of a coup last month. Junta head Capt Amadou Sanogo has said the army is not leaving power, but has promised to consult local political forces to set up a transition body "with the aim of organising peaceful, free, open and democratic elections in which we will not take part". At a Shell pump in downtown Bamako, the line of cars was so long Tuesday that the vehicles were idling on the highway leading to the station. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Timbuktu mayor Halle Cisse: "We don't know who's in charge" 
 
 A farmer, who was filling up 15 jerry cans with diesel, told the BBC that he was worried about not being able to irrigate his crops with a generator once fuel reserves run out. But the Tuareg rebels have taken advantage of the political situation and made rapid advances in the past few days - and now control of a third of the West African country, including the key northern towns of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu. The rebels are divided into two groups - the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which wants independence for the northern Tuareg homelands, while Ansar Dine, which is linked to the North African branch of al-Qaeda, wants to remain part of Mali but impose Sharia. The coup and Tuareg rebellion have exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in Mali and some neighbouring countries, with aid agencies warning that 13 million people need food aid following a drought in the region.
– Since we last checked in, the situation in Mali following a soldiers' coup has spiraled, with rising concerns over food and gas shortages, violence, and indeed the country's "very existence," according to Le Monde. An update: The coup has driven more than 200,000 people from their homes to other parts of the region, the AP reports. The UN worries that major food shortages could be imminent, and "mayhem in these towns and cities is increasing," says a rep. Neighboring countries have established an embargo against the rebels who ousted the president; they've closed off their borders and frozen the country's regional bank account. That has prompted residents of Mali, which imports all its fuel, to rush to gas stations to collect fuel. The country's electricity grid may also be headed for failure. UNESCO is citing a threat to Timbuktu, a World Heritage Site full of "architectural wonders," notes the BBC. Mosques there are "essential to the preservation of the identity of the people of Mali," says the group. Yet "nothing seems to be able to stop" the Tuareg coup, Le Monde reports. West African leaders need to help Mali's military fight back before the instability spreads beyond the country's borders.