Google ABC NEWS - Somali residents say the Islamist militia have retreated from the key southern port of Kismayu, surrendering control of their last remaining stronghold in the country, and retreating south towards the Kenyan border.
Ethiopian troops, who are backing Somalia's transitional government, are now said to be advancing on the port, after shelling several thousand Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) fighters with mortars and rockets at their frontline in Jilib on Sumday.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi told reporters in Mogadishu his government had regained control of the port.
"Kismayo is already in the hands of the government," he said.
"The Islamists have run away ... the airport and the seaport are free.
"There are still some mopping up operations."
It is unclear where the leaders and fighters of the SICC might have gone, analysts speculate they may simply have dumped their uniforms and melted away into the Somalian bush.
The immediate future of the country is uncertain, as many doubt the Somalian Government's capacity to enforce control, without the continuing support of Ethiopian troops.
- Reuters