The Somali radical Islamic movement al-Shabaab says it has captured the southern city of Diif, previously in the hands of the rival Hezb al-Islam militia.

Speaking on a local radio station, an al-Shabaab spokesperson said the city close to the Kenyan border had been the scene of heavy fighting.

The movement has already taken control of other parts of southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab has also threatened to carry out attack in Kenya, because of the country’s support for the Somali transitional government. In response, Kenya has tightened its border controls.

Somalia has had virtually no functioning central government since president Mohamed Siad Barr was deposed in the early 1990s.