BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Islamists in northern Mali say they have pushed the secular Tuareg rebels out of a northwestern town and into the desert and now control the main Mali towns bordering Mauritania and Niger.

A spokesman for the extremist group Ansar Dine, Sanda Abou Mohamed, announced Wednesday that the group had taken Lere from NMLA, a secular Tuareg rebel group. “Some have joined us, others have left the city,” said Mohamed.