The UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire and return to democracy in Mali, prompting an announcement of an end to "military operations" by Tuareg rebels in the north, AFP reported.

The UN statement adopted by the 15-member council also 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."

The 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.

Both France, the country's former colonial master, and the United States have invested significantly in Mali in a bid to stem growing extremism in the Sahel region.

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.