AFRICAN leaders and international officials have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for military operations against Islamist militants in Mali and humanitarian aid.
Malian President Dioncounda Traore thanked the "entire international community" as nations offered cash or support at the top-level meeting at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia's capital on Tuesday.
While more than $US600 million ($A579 million) has been pledged so far - including over $US120 million from Japan and $US96 million from the United States - how much would be spent on backing the key African-led military force was not immediately clear.
"The whole world has gathered here, it's very good for Mali," Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly said.
The donor conference comes a day after French-led forces seized Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu from Islamists as part of an offensive against the radicals who have controlled the country's vast desert north for 10 months.
African leaders and officials, as well as representatives from the United Nations, European Union and China attended the meeting.
"We all know the gravity of the crisis," AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the conference, aimed at providing funding for the African-led force for Mali (AFISMA) supporting Malian troops.
"It is a situation that requires a swift and effective international response for it threatens Mali, the region, the continent and even beyond."
The AU has promised to contribute $US50 million but diplomats have suggested about $US700 million will be needed for AFISMA and the Malian army, in addition to heavy humanitarian costs.
Alassane Ouattara, president of Ivory Coast, said there was an "urgent need to speed up the deployment".
A woeful lack of cash and logistical resources has hampered AFISMA in its support of Malian troops.
So far, just 2000 African troops have been sent to Mali or neighbouring Niger, with the bulk of the fighting borne by about 2500 French troops, who launched a military offensive on January 11.
"We are gathered here today to provide AFISMA ways to carry out its work of restoring the sovereignty and integrity of Mali, prerequisites for lasting political stability," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
Mali's president also called on the wider Muslim world to support efforts and show that "Islam at its heart does not serve as a cover for terrorism and organised crime."
UN leader Ban Ki-moon earlier said there was a "moral imperative for the entire international community" to provide support to the people of Mali "at this critical hour".
AU chairman and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn thanked France for its military intervention in Mali, as well as praising west African troops in AFISMA.
"Forging strong co-ordination... will enable us to speedily restore the territorial integrity of the country, and progressively address the challenges of terrorism and extremism in the region," he said.
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