Tuaregs claim 'independence' from Mali

The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) made the statement on its website, adding that it would respect other states' borders.

The group is one of two rebel groups to have gained ground in the area after Mali's government was ousted.

"We solemnly proclaim the independence of Azawad as from today," a rebel spokesperson said on Friday.

Mali has been gripped by instability, following a coup by army officers in the capital Bamako and advances by Tuareg fighters and other armed groups that have seen a string of northern towns fall under their control.

The MNLA statement on Friday stressed the group's "firm commitment to create the conditions for lasting peace [and] to initiate the institutional foundations for a state based on a democratic constitution for an independent Azawad"

The declaration comes as rights group Amnesty International warned that Mali was on the brink of a major humanitarian disaster in the wake of the rebellion.

It demanded that aid agencies be given immediate access to the country after days of looting, abduction and chaos in the northern towns of Gao, Kidal and the historic city of Timbuktu.

On Thursday the MNLA rebels declared a "unilateral" ceasefire after the UN Security Council called for an end to the fighting in Mali - and after it said it had secured territory.

A statement posted on the rebel website on Friday proclaimed independence, adding it would respect existing borders with neighbouring states and adhere to the UN Charter. The statement also called for recognition from the international community.

Meanwhile, armed fighters stormed the Algerian consulate in northeastern Mali on Thursday, abducting seven diplomats amid fears that Al Qaeda-linked fighters are turning the country into a rogue state and fuelling a humanitarian crisis.

As the MNLA claimed success in its decades-old struggle to "liberate" their homeland, there were reports that Ansar Dine, an Islamist group which had also joined the fight against Malian government forces, had begun imposing Sharia law in some northern areas of Mali.

However it is unclear which of several groups is actually in charge in northern Mali.

The MNLA was formed last year, partly by well-armed Tuareg fighters returning from Libya, where they had backed former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

But the UN has voiced alarm at the presence of the Ansar Dine group amid the rebel forces.

Unlike the MNLA, Ansar Dine is not in favour of an independent northern state. Mali has been in disarray ever since the 22 March coup enabled rebels to secure territory in the north.