The African Union (AU) is seeking to exhaust available options in the crisis in Northern Mali before the deployment of an international protection force that might bring together the West African bloc, ECOWAS, the AU and the UN, its top security official said on Monday.

Ramtane Lamamra, the AU Commissioner of Peace and Security, who was re-elected during the AU Summit here, said all options had not been exploited, including the possibility of negotiating with the rebel movements to denounce violence and help form a unity government.

The AU has requested the Malian interim President to formally write a letter to the UN Security Council formally requesting for the deployment of a peacekeeping or a stabilization force.

"We are going to the UN Security Council with a concept of operations. It is needed for the process to progress," Lamamra said.

The Council recently requested for more actionable information to determine whether there is a possibility of deploying a force in the region.

Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have formally requested the deployment of a military force possibly under its leadership, to help stabilize the region.

AU convened a Presidential level meeting on the sidelines of the 19th AU Summit of Heads of State and Government and called for the deployment of the protection force to offer security to the government installations in the West African state and the formation of a unity government by July 31.

Lamamra said international players were working together and hoped the cooperation would result into a prompt resolution.

Earlier, UN Special Envoy for West Africa Said Djinnit told Xinhua that the world body was coordinating its actions in dealing with the conflict.

"The UN is working with the AU and ECOWAS to find solutions to the crises in West Africa. We are working closely on Mali and Guinea Bissau, that is why we are represented at the highest level at these meeting," Djinnit, a former AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, told Xinhua.

The AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) also called for an international investigation into a palace attack against interim President Diancounda Traore, who is expected back home shortly after undergoing treatment in Paris for the injuries sustained during the Palace security break-in.

Lamamra said that while further negotiations were possible as part of a political solution to the conflict, a military option was also on the table. He said the possibility of deploying a military force there could be reached within less than one month and would largely depend on the formation of a unity government.

The AU official said possibilities of using friendly forces in the region as a stabilization force remained while talks are launched with moderate political groups that denounce terrorism and separatism.