A patrol unit of Mali's national guards clashed on Sunday with the rebel fighters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad region (MNLA) at Koro in the northern part of the West African country, sources close to the MNLA in Gao told Xinhua.

The confrontation resulted in three deaths on the side of the rebels and five people injured on the side of the national guards.

The remaining rebels fled towards Timbuktu in two vehicles.

In another development, a meeting between MNLA and Ansar Dine militants has not ended with an agreement. Iyad Ag Ghaly of the Ansar Dine group insists on the creation of an Islamic state, while the MNLA is still pushing for the creation of an independent Azawad state.

The two rebel groups took advantage of Mali's March 22 coup to carve out the desert north. On April 6, the MNLA declared an independent Azawad state, which has not been recognized internationally. Unlike the Tuareg rebels of the MNLA seeking secession from Mali, Ansar Dine aims to impose Sharia law (Islamic law) throughout the country.