A Malian Tuareg military leader who served as a colonel in the army of deposed Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi has returned to northern Mali, an official said Wednesday.

Hundreds of civilians, mostly returning migrant workers and their families, also crossed back into Mali in recent days, another official said.

"The Libyan army's Colonel Awanz Ag Emakadeye, a Tuareg of Malian origin, has returned to northern Mali with his men," the local official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"They are under our protection. This is their home and they have reaffirmed that they have come in a spirit of peace."

The Malian government, together with local leaders, have set up basic infrastructures to facilitate the return of Malian Tuaregs who fought alongside Kadhafi.

Hundreds of other Tuareg fighters from Mali and Niger have crossed back into their home countries since the collapse of Kadhafi's regime.

According to a security official and a support group, hundreds of Malian civilians have also returned in recent days, mainly to the region of Timbuktu.

"We have around 700 Malian civilians here now... but we don't really have any infrastructure to look after them," the official told AFP.

"Their situation is very difficult... They are mainly women and children arriving in trucks. They have nothing," said Mohamed Ould Sidy Ahmed, from the Association of Timbuktu Arabs.

As Libya's new Western-backed rulers bid to flush out the last remaining pockets of pro-Kadhafi forces, the former strongman can still count on support from the region's Tuaregs, whose rebellions he once backed.