Pro-government militias have seized control of  Luuq, a town in south-western Somalia, without firing a shot. Residents say the radical Hizbul Islam group fled before the arrival of government forces.

On Monday the same militia, the Ahlu Sunna group, took control of the town of Bulahawa from the Islamist al-Shabaab without a fight. Both towns are in Gedo region, which borders Kenya and Ethiopia.

Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab control much of central and southern Somalia, where they enforce a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. The weak Western-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed controls small parts of Somalia and sections of the capital Mogadishu.

The United States recently sent arms and munitions to the government, which has been engaged in a civil war since 1991.

Map of central and southern Somalia (Wikipedia)