Updated

The governor of a city in northern Mali that was under rebel control until last week has returned to Bamako amid warnings from Tuareg separatists that he was unwelcome.

Col. Adama Kamissoko left Kidal on Friday just one day after his return. Government officials were chased out of the city 16 months ago by a mixture of rebel groups following a March 2012 military coup.

Kamissoko denied his trip had anything to do with security issues, noting that he left his team in Kidal to distribute materials for the country's July 28 election. He said he returned to Bamako for a generator.

But Mossa Ag Acharatoumane of the rebel National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad said a Tuareg leader told the governor he wasn't welcome by the population.