Malian troops have advanced north toward the rebel-held city of Gao, a military spokesman said on Friday.
The troops entered the strategic town of Hombori, about 300 kilometres south of Gao, late on Thursday.
"We are at Hombori and we are advancing," said Diarran Kone, a spokesman for the Malian army. "But, we will not declare a victory until we have liberated all of the people."
Malian forces, backed by French warplanes and ground troops, are making slow progress in an military operation to recapture the north from the rebels, who seized the vast territory last year.
Meanwhile, the Malian army pledged to investigate allegations of human rights abuses committed its soldiers.
"We will not allow a minority of soldiers to tarnish the image of the entire army," Minister of Defence Yamoussa Camara told the state broadcaster, promising to punish anyone found guilty of crimes.
Rights groups say they are starting to gather evidence indicating the army executed ethnic Tuareg men and committed sexual violations against women.
Tuareg rebels seized the north in 2012 from the government after a coup in Bamako in March. They were swept aside by radical Islamists who imposed sharia.
Several thousand Islamist fighters are believed to be in Mali.
France has some 2,000 troops in the country and African nations have pledged to send several thousand, though most have yet to reach Mali.
A donor conference will take place on the sidelines of the African Union summit this weekend in Addis Ababa, with the aim of raising several hundred million dollars to support the military operation.
The United Nations has called for a ramping up humanitarian aid to the country.