Armed men attacked the town of Fakola in the southern part of Mali, about 300 km from the capital Bamako, an official source said on Sunday.

No loss of human life was reported from the attack.

"The assailants ransacked local gendarmerie offices as well as the local administrator's office," the statement affirmed.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the assailants had taken control of a section of the town before being chased away by the Malian armed forces.

"Reinforcements of security forces have been deployed in the affected localities to search for the assailants," the Malian government reiterated.

The attack came just a day after Saturday's attack in Nara, a town situated near the Mauritanian border, which left 12 people dead among them nine assailants and three Malian soldiers.