Mali's new leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita pledged Wednesday to be a "president of national reconciliation" in his first public statement since his landslide election victory.

Speaking a day after the constitutional court confirmed his win in the August 11 presidential run-off, he vowed to re-establish the rule of law and rebuild conflict-scarred Mali's shattered public institutions.

Clashes between the Malian army and Islamists killed seven people Sunday, including a soldier and two civilians, military sources said, after militants infiltrated northern Mali's largest city, Gao.

The fighting took place as the Malian army carried out what it called a "clean-up" operation after Islamist militants opened fire on an army camp in Gao overnight.

Islamists in northern Mali have the "destructive power" of an army, a top Malian colonel said Sunday, while showcasing weapons seized in Gao since French-led forces retook the city last month.

"What we have here, it's indicative of an army, or groups that have the capacity of an army," said Gao commander Laurent Mariko, showing the stockpile of weapons to reporters.

At least two civilians were wounded on Thursday in an apparent car bombing near a military camp housing French and Chadian troops in restive northern Mali, local officials and security sources told Agence France Presse.

The vehicle "exploded around 500 meters (yards) from the camp occupied by the French and the Chadians," a local official said, with a security source confirming the information.

Malian soldiers on Monday evacuated the main market in Gao over fears of an attack, after the northern city was shaken by three days of suicide bombings and guerrilla gun battles claimed by Islamists.

"We fear an attack, that is why we are evacuating the Gao market for security reasons," said a high-ranking officer.

A newly formed group of armed Arab fighters tightened its grip on the northern Malian desert city of Timbuktu on Friday, witnesses said.

The push into Timbuktu by the so-called National Liberation Front of Azawad (FNLA) came a day after west African leaders agreed to send a military force into coup-hit and divided Mali, though those troops will be based in the capital Bamako for now.