The town of Niono used to be a sleepy villiage-- before it became a military base for French and Malian troops.<br/> <br />The soldiers bring relief -- and much-needed bustle to local markets.<br/> <br />But as French air strikes in neighbouring Diabaly send Islamists fleeing, Niono residents are now worried these retreating militants will hide in their villages.<br/> <br />Islamists are reported to be abandoning vehicles, shaving beards and removing their turbans and traditional flowing dress to blend in with locals.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (French) IBRAHIM TRAORE, OFFICE WORKER, SAYING:<br/> <br />"In our area we are not used to wearing a turban. It's towards the north that they wrap their heads in turbans, but towards the south generally people don't wear it, so when you see someone with a turban you may think he's a jihadist."<br/> <br />But others say there is no way to tell who comes from the region and who is hiding.<br/> <br />French and Malian troops are cautiously advancing into northern Mali amid fears of an ambush by al Qaeda-linked fighters.<br/> <br />A column of French and Malian armour and supplies re-took Diabaly early on Monday.<br/> <br />The military operation has turned back an Islamist advance that threatened to topple Mali's government.<br/> <br />France now aims, with international support, to dislodge the Islamists from Mali's vast desert north before they use it to launch attacks on the West.
