Mali’s military has regained control of a village in the centre of the country where more than 2,000 residents have been besieged by suspected Islamist militants for two weeks, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The siege began when the militants kidnapped several people in Farabougou, most of whom are of the farming Bambara ethnic group. Malian troops had been unable to reach the village by land because heavy rains have made the roads impassable, a local resident said.

But a mission aided by the air force on Thursday meant that soldiers were able to penetrate the remote area, the statement said.