Al-Shabab rebels pull out of key Somali town

Kenyan and Somali troops have pushed out al-Shabab fighters from the southern port city of Kismayo, the last bastion of the armed rebel group, the rebels have confirmed.

"The military command of al-Shabab mujahedeen ordered a tactical retreat at midnight," Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the rebel group, said on Saturday.

Kenyan and Somali forces launched a beach assault on al-Shabab's last major bastion on Friday but encountered resistance heading to the city centre.

The African Union forces are not yet thought to have control of the city.

Kenyan troops are part of a force trying to wrest control of the country for the new UN-backed president.

Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told AFP news agency: "The military command of Shabab mujahideen ordered a tactical retreat at midnight."

Speaking to Reuters, the same spokesman confirmed the withdrawal, but added: "The enemies have not yet entered the town. Let them enter Kismayo, which will soon turn into a battlefield."

Correspondents say the loss of Kismayo will be a major blow to the Islamists.

Residents of Kismayo told AFP the Islamist fighters seemed to have moved away and reported that their radio station, Radio Andalus, had gone off air.

Fighting for the city began after an amphibious assault led by the Kenyan military that began overnight on Thursday and raged through Friday.

Earlier, al-Shabab and some local clerics had called for residents to head towards the frontlines to defend the city.

Tension was high overnight on Friday, and residents said that supplies were running low and shelling had forced many to remain in their homes.

Colonel Cyrus Oguna, a Kenyan military spokesman, said Kenyan soldiers and Somali government troops had advanced on Kismayo from the north, south and from the sea.

Residents reported fighting near the beach earlier on Friday, about four kilometres outside the city, as military helicopters hovered overhead.

Many streets were deserted. Some masked men looked on from windows and balconies.

One resident, Hassan Ali, told the agency: "We don't know where they went to... but early this morning the last military vehicle left the town."