Hundreds of Islamic militiamen in heavily armed trucks have taken over the southern town of Kismayo.
"The Islamic courts have entered Kismayo," said resident, adding that the warlords who previously ruled the area had fled. "We welcome the Islamic courts."
The peaceful takeover yesterday was the latest blow to Somalia's virtually powerless government. Kismayo was one of the last seaports that had been outside the militia's control in Somalia.
Leaders from the Islamic militia - which controls the capital Mogadishu, along with much of southern Somalia - have been in Kismayo for several days.
Fearful residents of the town, some 260 miles south-west of Mogadishu, have been fleeing across the border to Kenya in case fighting breaks out.
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.
An interim government was formed in 2004 with UN help in hopes of restoring order after years of lawlessness. But the Islamic movement seized Mogadishu in June and now controls much of the country's south.
AP