A bid by the African Union and ECOWAS, to pass a resolution sanctioning military intervention, has failed at the UN Security Council.
The Security Council said it needed more details before it could make a decision.
Northern Mali was taken over by Tuareg separatists and Islamists after a coup by Mali’s army toppled the president in March. A deal made by the coup leaders and other western African states saw the instalment of an interim president.
The AU and ECOWAS want a UN mandate to assist Mali’s army to retake the north and to protect the institutions of transition, to ensure the army does not attempt another coup.