The UN Security Council called Wednesday for an immediate ceasefire and return to order in Mali, in the wake of a military coup in the country.

The UN Security Council called Wednesday for an immediate ceasefire and return to order in Mali, in the wake of a military coup in the country.

"The Security Council strongly condemns the continued attacks, looting, and seizure of territory carried out by rebel groups in the north of Mali and demands an immediate cessation of hostilities," the UNSC said in a statement on Wednesday adopted by the 15-member council.

The UN statement which expressed "strong condemnation of the forcible seizure of power from the democratically-elected government" and urged the mutineers "to ensure the safety and security of all Malian officials," prompted an announcement of an end to "military operations" by Tuareg rebels in the north.

According to AFP, the UN meeting came as world leaders scrambled to stop Mali's descent into chaos two weeks after a coup in Bamako touched off a sequence that saw Tuareg rebels backed by radical Islamists conquer half the country.

In Bamako, the new military rulers' efforts to restore order fell apart as a coalition of some 50 political parties and over 100 civil society organizations refused to take part in a proposed national meeting on the country's future, AFP reported.

Following the UN initiative, the Tuareg separatist group Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) said in a statement that "after the complete liberation of the Azawad territory (northern Mali) and given the strong request by the international community" it had decided "unilaterally to declare the end of military operations from midnight Thursday."

In the wake of the coup led by Captain Amadou Sanogo that ousted President Amani Toumani Toure on March 22 and took control of government institutions, the Tuareg rebels and extremist groups took control of the key northern towns of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, effectively cutting the country in two.

The Tuareg separatist MNLA and Ansar Dine, which is linked to the regional Al-Qaeda faction, have seized a chunk of Mali's territory larger than France since January.

Mali's junta on Wednesday denounced rights violations by the rebel groups.

Feeling the bite of mounting sanctions and pressure from all sides, coup leader Captain Sanogo unsuccessfully proposed a national meeting to determine "what will be best for the country," AFP correspondent reported.

The crisis precipitated by Sanogo's coup also sparked mounting concern that a massive regional humanitarian emergency fueled by conflict and drought was developing.