The United Nations Security Council has said it was not ready to back a West African intervention force in northern Mali, which has been seized by Islamist militant groups.
The council condemned the destruction of ancient shrines in the historic city of Timbuktu, saying it could constitute a war crime.
Economic Community Of West Africa States (ECOWAS) wants to send 3,000 troops to Mali.
But a UN diplomat told the BBC that the council wanted more details.
“Before endorsing an ECOWAS force, we would need a clearer plan, more information about what the objectives are, and more evidence that such a force would have a reasonable chance of meeting those objectives,” he said.
Mali’s neighbours have lobbied for the UN to back their proposed force, fearing the spread of Islamist militancy from northern Mali.
Yesterday’s UN Security Council resolution also warned that “attacks against buildings dedicated to religion or historic monuments can constitute violations of international law”.
This means that a case could be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, whose prosecutor has already condemned the recent destruction of Muslim tombs in Timbuktu as “war crimes”.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS mediation efforts have been dealt a further blow by the decision of the interim President Dioncounda Traore not to attend talks in Burkina Faso over the weekend.
Under pressure from ECOWAS, the coup leaders handed over power to Traore after the putsch, but he was beaten unconscious by protesters in May and remains in France where he went for medical treatment.