Countries and blocs, including some in Africa, are urging Mali's military junta to return power to civilian rule and restore constitutional order in the country, as the junta announced the promulgation of a "new constitution."

Nigeria's Senate Tuesday asked the military junta in Mali to hand over power to President Amadou Toure.

The senate also called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), the United Nations and other international bodies to impose sanctions on Mali, should the junta fail to hand over power immediately.

The senate condemned the attempt to forcefully change the democratically-elected government, demanding the development be treated as an insurrection rather than a coup.

Some Nigerian senators said Mali had been highly rated as an African example of a thriving democracy, and they expressed regrets that the country, which had been under civilian rule in the last 32 years, was now plunged into political crisis.

The Algerian government Monday issued a statement calling for an immediate return to constitutional legality in its neighboring country, saying it was "concerned about the stability of the region."

Dialogue represents "the only way for a peaceful solution" to the issue of northern Mali, it said.

It urged all parties in the country to end "actions that contribute to the exacerbation of the situation in northern Mali, or to increase the suffering of all peoples of Mali."

The 15-member West African bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday decided to suspend the membership of Mali to press the junta to return to constitutional order, according to regional officials.

The decision was made at an extraordinary summit held in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, whose President Alassane Ouattara chairs ECOWAS.

The punitive measure followed the African Union's suspension of Mali on Friday. The AU reiterated zero tolerance for any unconstitutional change of government and its total rejection of any seizure of power by force.

A group of soldiers calling themselves the National Committee for Redressement of Democracy and Restoration of the State (CNRDR) on Thursday toppled President Amadou Toumani Toure, accusing him of poorly handling the Tuareg rebels in northern Mali.

In the latest developments, the CNRDR on Tuesday evening announced the promulgation of a 69-article "basic act" as the country's new constitution during a transitional period to guarantee the rule of law in the country and a "pluralist democracy."

Earlier on Monday, the UN Security Council expressed its strong condemnation of the coup d'etat in Mali and called for order to be restored in the country.

"The Security Council strongly condemns the forcible seizure of power from the democratically-elected government of Mali by some elements of the Malian armed forces," it said in a statement

"The Security Council condemns the acts initiated and carried out by mutinous troops ... and demands they cease all violence and return to their barracks," it said.

"The Security Council calls for national authorities, and international, regional, and sub-regional organizations, to take urgent steps to further their concerted efforts to address these challenges in an effective and appropriate manner," said the statement.

The United States on Monday suspended some aid to Mali, reiterating its call for the restoration of the elected government.

"We have now taken the decision to suspend our assistance to the government of Mali pending a resolution of the situation on the ground," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"We want to see the elected government restored as quickly as possible," she told a regular news briefing.

France's Foreign Ministry on Monday reiterated its condemnation of the military coup and the overthrow of constitutional order in the western African country.

Spokesman Bernard Valero said France was in contact with all international partners regarding the situation in Mali, in particular ECOWAS and the AU, "whose efforts to ensure the restoration of constitutional order in Mali we support."

He also expressed concerns about the members of President Amadou Toure's government who were arrested during the night of March 21 to 22, and have begun a hunger strike.

Said Djinnit, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative for West Africa, traveled to Bamako, capital of Mali, and met with Mali junta leaders last Friday in a joint mission with ECOWAS and the AU, calling for an immediate return to constitutional order in the country and urging the junta leaders to guarantee the physical safety of Toure, as well as that of the other people detained.