Rebels in Mali have captured the northern town of Kidal, just a week after the military seized power saying the army needed more equipment to fight the insurgents.
A rebel spokesman told the BBC they were in charge of the town, which local residents confirm.
Coup leader Capt Amadou Sanogo has responded to Kidal's fall by asking for foreign help to tackle the rebels.
The coup has been condemned - Mali's neighbours have threatened sanctions.
On Thursday, West African nations gave Mali's military leaders 72 hours to relinquish power.
The regional body, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), said the proposed measures included closing land borders and freezing Mali's assets.
The leaders met in Ivory Coast, after earlier plans for talks with the coup leaders in the Malian capital, Bamako, were abandoned as coup supporters occupied the airport's runway.
Mali's neighbours have also placed a peacekeeping force on standby.
The fighter from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) told BBC Afrique: "[Kidal] is totally controlled [by us], there is no more resistance, all army positions have fallen."
Azawad is the Tuareg name for their home region in the Sahara Desert - Tuaregs have launched several rebellions over the years, complaining that the government based in far-off Bamako was ignoring them.
The Tuareg rebels have taken several northern towns in recent months, after returning from Libya where many had fought for the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The president of the commission of Ecowas, Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, told reporters that if the deadline was not met, all the 15 countries of the bloc would deny Mali access to their ports, and there would be no transfers to commercial banks in Mali from the regional central bank, based in Senegal.
Mali is one of eight West African countries which use a common currency - the CFA franc.
The BBC's John James in Ivory Coast says it is difficult to see how the regime in poor, landlocked Mali could cope if these sanctions were imposed.
He says the financial isolation of the government of then Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo played a key role in weakening his grip on power last year - and he was in a far stronger position than coup leader Capt Amadou Sanogo.
It is difficult to see how Mali's junta could survive an economic blockade. Mali remains desperately poor and the landlocked country is almost totally dependent on its Ecowas neighbours for trade. The only non-Ecowas borders (Algeria and Mauritania) run across the Sahara Desert.
As former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo found a year ago, being part of West Africa's CFA franc zone puts considerable powers in regional hands, and your neighbours can effectively shut down your formal financial sector from outside.
Coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo is in an even weaker position, with fewer international friends. He looks to have little choice but to negotiate.
His declared aim in leading the coup was to strengthen the country's resolve against the northern insurgency. But this Ecowas ultimatum means he will only weaken the defences if he refuses to step aside.
The journalist Martin Vogl in Bamako told the BBC's Network Africa programme that, even before the deadline was announced, there were long queues of people trying to withdraw money from banks in Mali's capital.
He says people are now likely to stock up on essential goods such as food, as well as petrol, which must be imported.
There has been no official reaction to the deadline from Mali's military rulers but Martin Vogl says they are very angry.
He says many Malians are upset that after 20 years of democracy, the army is once more in charge but there was also growing disillusionment with the ousted government and some feel Ecowas is pushing too hard.
The coup leaders have unveiled a new constitution as well as announcing elections in which those who took part in the coup would be barred from standing. However, no date has yet been set.
Under the new constitution, a transitional committee composed of 26 members of the security forces and 15 civilians would take power.
Those who serve on the committee will be given immunity from prosecution.
Some of the document is similar to Mali's current constitution, including guarantees of freedom of speech, thought and movement.
President Amadou Toumani Toure said on Wednesday that he remained in the country, free and in good health.
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