This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Tuareg rebels who swept across the deserts of northern Mali in the aftermath of a coup in the country's capital have attempted to consolidate their power in the region, declaring an independent nation.

Insurgents from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (NMLA) made the announcement on their website, claiming they were creating the new nation in line with the principles of international law and justice.

"We, the people of the Azawad [desert region] proclaim the irrevocable independence of the state of the Azawad starting from this day, Friday 6 April 2012," the statement read.

The declaration drew immediate condemnation from the international community. The African Union condemned it as "null and void", while France, the former colonial power in the area, said it "means nothing for us".

Delegates from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), who initially said they would negotiate with the rebels, were reportedly working on plans for military intervention in northern Mali.

Britain responded to the continuing turmoil by withdrawing staff from its embassy in the capital Bamako, citing the "unstable and unpredictable situation".

Growing concern about the situation comes amid reports that the rebel fighters, who last week took control of all the main towns in northern Mali, included people linked to the extremist Islamist faction Ansar Dine and al-Qaida's North African branch known as Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM.

A source who fled the rebel-held town of Gao said that extremists were heavily involved in the advance and were now targeting the Christian minority in northern towns.

"The rebels have sacked the church in Gao, burning the contents whilst crying Allah Akhbar," the source told the Guardian. "At a rebel barricade outside Gao, the bodies of people who have been slaughtered were laid out on the ground."

In a further report, which could not be verified, the Guardian learned that the Christian prefect of the town of Bourem had also been killed along with his relatives.

"The prefect was slaughtered at a checkpoint along with his family," a source said. "Christians here are now living in real fear."

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had heard similar reports and was very concerned about the situation, although it could not confirm specific allegations about attacks on Christians.

The rebellion in northern Mali dates back to the country's independence from the French, when ethnic Tuaregs were led to believe they might receive their own separate homeland in the Sahara desert.

In recent months the insurgency has been boosted by arms from Libya; frustration in the Malian army that the government had failed to equip it to fight the rebels helped trigger Mali's military coup, which toppled the civilian government on 21 March.

The NMLA, whose stated aim is the creation of a secularist homeland for the Tuareg people, has attracted some sympathy from foreign powers.

The group says there have been 50 years of misrule by the country's southern-based administration; this, and the people's distinct ethnic and cultural identity, are reasons for the need for an independent state.

The NMLA is led by a Tuareg senior commander who fought in the military for the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

But there are continuing signs that NMLA control over northern Mali involves Ansar Dine and AQIM.

On Thursday, residents in Gao confirmed that the Ansar Dine faction – a group led by Algerian extremists who have operated a "kidnap economy" and have only tenuous links to the Tuareg cause – stormed the Algerian consulat, taking the consul and six other employees hostage.

A source said that all three organisations were declaring their presence in Gao, along with the Nigerian terrorist organisation Boko Haram.

"There are four distinct flags flying there – the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist group, Ansar Dine, and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb," he said.

Another resident told Associated Press that control of the city was in the hands of Islamist fighters. "We barely see the NMLA. The people we see are the Salafis. I can't tell which group they are exactly, but we know they are the Islamists because of their beards. They are the people in control of Gao."

Since the beginning of the uprising, more than 200,000 people have fled the north of Mali, an estimated 100,000 crossing into Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, all of which are already struggling with a food crisis caused by drought.

Amnesty International warned that without urgent intervention the region would be on the brink of a humanitarian disaster amid the looting of hospitals, and disruption of electricity and water, and dwindling food supplies.

Abuses by rebel fighters reportedly included abductions and rapes in Gao and the town of Menaka, the human rights group said.

Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty's West Africa researcher, said: "Women and girls particularly are too terrified to leave their homes. People are describing an atmosphere of near total lawlessness.

"All the food and medicine stored by major aid agencies has been looted and most of the aid workers have fled. The population is at imminent risk of severe food and medical shortages that could lead to many casualties especially among women and children who are less able to fend for themselves."

A source said: "The fighters do not have a clear agenda. Why are they sacking the towns they are occupying to the point where they have cut off the supply of water to Timbuktu, and the hospitals in the towns? Is their goal simply to instil total chaos here? We are so, so afraid."