Bamako , Mali ( CNN ) -- Islamist rebels in Mali have taken over a town in the middle of the country , a rebel leader and a resident said Saturday . Douentza is in central Mali , about 110 miles ( 175 kilometers ) from the key town of Sevare , which is in a buffer zone between the rebel-occupied north and the south . Chaos has rocked Mali since a military ruler overthrew the democratically elected president in March , shaking one of West Africa 's most stable democracies . Two Islamist groups , MUJAO and the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine , now control Douentza , according to Ansar Dine military leader Omar Hamaha . He said Ansar Dine had allowed the Ganda Izo militia to set up base in the town so they could join Ansar Dine , but the Ganda Izo people had `` betrayed '' them . `` We have become aware that there are intelligence offers and security agents of the Malian army among them , '' Hamaha said . `` It 's why we have decided to take over Douentza and disarm the so-called Ganda Izo militiamen . '' A resident of Douentza , Adama Guindo , said the Islamists disarmed the militia without shooting . He described groups of Islamist fighters riding in vehicles mounted with heavy weapons inside the town . The coup leader who overthrew the democratically elected president stepped down in May and transferred power to a civilian transitional government , but ethnic Tuareg rebels and other Islamist militants have taken advantage of the uncertainty to seize control of the northern part of the country , including Timbuktu . Members of the Malian army are currently based in Sevare for training and possible military intervention in the north .
Chaos has rocked Mali since a military ruler overthrew the president in March . The country is still reeling from months of protests and violence that left more than 100 people dead last year.