Long queues formed at petrol stations in the capital Bamako after sanctions were imposed
Mali's ruling military junta has said it is considering charging the ousted president with high treason.
Coup leader Capt Amadou Sanogo said the junta may also charge Amadou Toumani Toure with financial misconduct.The announcement came as the military leadership, which has been targeted by international sanctions, called for a "national meeting" on Mali's future.
Landlocked Mali has to import all its fuel and in the capital long queues have formed at petrol stations.
Renegade officers deposed President Toure last month saying he had not done enough to fight Tuareg rebels.
Since the military took charge, Tuareg rebels in the north have made significant territorial gains - including taking the World Heritage Site of Timbuktu over the weekend.
'Cease military operations'
"We call the entire political class and all civil society actors to... a national meeting which will begin on April 5," Capt Sanogo told journalists.
He said the meeting on Thursday would determine "what will be best for the country in a consensual, democratic fashion".And he added that the ousted president "could be the object of judicial proceedings for high treason and financial wrongdoing", without giving more details.
The rebels are divided into two groups - the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which wants independence for the northern Tuareg homelands, while Ansar Dine, which is linked to the North African branch of al-Qaeda, wants to remain part of Mali but impose Sharia.
The US, a former key ally of Mali, has expressed concern that the political crisis is allowing radical Islamists to gain ground, and threatening the country's territorial integrity.
There have been reports of extremist Salafi groups moving into towns in the north taken over by Tuareg rebels in recent days.
Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure was due to step down after his second term this month In Timbuktu, people told the BBC that Ansar Dine members are going from door-to-door telling occupants that they now have to live by the principles of Islamic law.
"The United States urgently calls on all armed rebels in the north of Mali to cease military operations that compromise the Republic of Mali's territorial integrity," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
Some civilians are reported to be fleeing the central towns of Mopti and Sevare fearing a rebel advance further south.
International pressure is growing on the coup leaders and correspondents say the country will struggle to survive an economic blockade.
Mali's West African neighbours imposed tough economic sanctions, including the closing of the country's borders and the freezing of its account at the regional central bank.
On Tuesday the African Union and the US also imposed targeted sanctions on the coup leaders and anyone actively supporting them, including travel bans and asset freezes.
Correspondents say long queues have formed at petrol stations in the capital Bamako and people are now hoarding fuel as a result of the sanctions.
The UN Security Council is expected to be releasing a statement on the crisis on Wednesday
The coup and Tuareg rebellion have exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in Mali and some neighbouring countries, with aid agencies warning that 13 million people need food aid following a drought in the region.
According to the UN refugee agency, since January the violence has uprooted more than 200,000 people, including around 100,000 who have fled the country.
Souirce: BBC News, 4 April 2012 Last updated at 08:17 GMT
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