The UN Security Council has unanimously backed France's military intervention in Mali to fight Islamist rebels, officials have said, reports the BBC.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped the intervention would help restore "Mali's constitutional order and territorial integrity".
Thousands of African troops are due to join Malian and French forces to help push back the rebels' offensive.
France intervened on Friday after the Islamists began advancing southwards.
French authorities said they had feared that the rebels would march on the capital, Bamako, creating a grave security threat for the wider region.
On Monday, the Security Council convened in New York for an emergency meeting at France's request.
After the meeting, France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud said his country had the "understanding and support" of the 14 other Security Council members.
But he added that France also wanted the deployment of a West African force to happen "as quickly as possible".
Read more of this report from the BBC.