DHAKA: Somali government troops backed by African Union forces have captured a key stronghold of al-Shabab Islamists.

The regional governor told the BBC that he was in the centre of Barawe, about 200km south of Mogadishu.

The government now controls all the seaports along the coast of Somalia, blocking off supply lines.

The AU says al-Shabab, who had held the town for six years, used it as a base to launch attacks on the capital.

Residents said many of the al-Qaeda-aligned militants had begun withdrawing from the key port town on Friday.

‘The situation is calm, the militiamen had fled before the forces reached the town,’ regional governor Abdukadir Mohamed Nur said.

Al-Shabab has lost control of several towns in the past month, but still controls large swathes of territory in rural areas.

BDST: 1728 HRS, OCT 05, 2014