The strength of this uprising and the use of heavy weapons, which were not present in the previous conflicts, were said to have "surprised" Malian officials and observers.

Diplomats, international observers and senior Malian officials say the vote was poorly organized.

There were several checks by Malian officials, and several more by the Senegalese.

Delegations from the MNLA and MIA left for Ouagadougou to negotiate with Malian officials.

For many blacks, and for Malian officials, the view could scarcely be more different.

Malian officials believed that 15,000 children, some as young as 11 years old, were working in the Ivory Coast in 2001.

Those remittances, estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars, exceed the total amount that the French government gives Mali in aid, Malian officials say.

Jean-Charles Dei (born 1961 in Bamako) is a Malian official working for the United Nations' World Food Programme.

However, a Malian official told AFP that only soldiers were executed and not civilians.

The UN Security Council also called for "the release of all detained Malian officials" and the "immediate restoration of constitutional rule and the democratically elected government".