Bamako , Mali ( CNN ) -- Mali 's new interim president vowed that he would not let the country be split by rebels as he was sworn in Thursday , restoring the country to civilian rule after a brief military coup . Dioncounda Traore , the former , speaker of the parliament , took the oath of office in the capital , Bamako , four days after President Amadou Toumani Toure handed in his letter of resignation to West African mediators . The inauguration was attended by junta leader Capt . Amadou Sanogo , who led the March 22 coup but agreed under international pressure to hand back power to a civilian government . In a speech , Traore , 70 , called for talks with the separatist Tuareg rebels who capitalized on the post-coup disorder to capture large areas of Mali 's vast Sahara region in the north . But failing that , government forces will wage a `` total and relentless war '' to retake the captured territory , he warned . The rebels have effectively split the West African nation in two , and northern areas remain volatile and tense , preventing aid agencies from accessing displaced people , the United Nations refugee agency said . The rebels last week declared independence for a region they recognize as Azawad , the cradle of their nomadic civilization . Calling for a return to peace , Traore urged all rebel movements `` to return to the negotiating table and to the ranks to strengthen this nation instead of dividing it . I ask them to stop the atrocities , the looting , the rapes . I ask them to leave peacefully , now , the cities they have been occupying . '' Traore said that his mission was to unify the country and that no split would be tolerated . Foreign groups helping the rebels , such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , the sub-Saharan offshoot of the terror group , would also be driven out , he said . `` We do not negotiate the split of the country , '' he said . `` Mali will carry out this fight with the support of subregional countries , the whole of Africa , with the help and support of the European Union and the entire international community . '' The March 22 coup staged by renegade soldiers led by Sanogo sparked a crisis in Mali , a West African nation that had been a cornerstone of stability . The international community -- including West African states , the African Union and the United States -- called for the immediate restoration of constitutional rule . Late last week , Sanogo reached a deal with the Economic Community of West African States , or ECOWAS , a regional group that promotes economic unity . The agreement mandated a handover of power to the civilian government in exchange for the end of trade and diplomatic sanctions . The African Union and ECOWAS had slapped the military junta in Bamako with travel and economic restrictions , and froze its assets . Journalist Amadou Timbine contributed to this report .
Former parliament Speaker Dioncounda Traore is sworn in as interim president of Mali . Traore says he will not allow Mali to be split by separatist rebels . He says he wants to talk with the rebels , but failing that , he will wage war against them . The rebels took advantage of post-coup chaos to seize large areas of northern Mali .