The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued a warning on Saturday to all British nationals in Mali, urging them to leave the West African country due to security concerns.

The emergency warning published on the FCO website advised "against all travel to Mali" and call for Britons "to leave Mali if you have no pressing need to remain."

British nationals still in Bamako were urged to "exercise caution and stay away from crowds and demonstrations when travelling around the city."

The notice said that the British Embassy in Bamako, the capital city in the south of the land-locked nation, had re-opened following a temporary suspension of operations as a result of a coup d'etat on March 21.

Foreign tourists had been evacuated from Tombouctu, one of Mali's principal cities, but the FCO said "we believe that further kidnap attempts are likely."

There had been reports shops beginning to run low on supplies and of long queues forming outside banks, said the statement.

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