Al shabaab militants secured control of Yontoy and Bulo-Gadud villages, about 30Km away from Kismayo without encountering resistance from allied forces on Saturday afternoon.

African Union troops and their allied Jubbaland soldiers pulled out of the towns, a day after seizing them from Al shabaab following joint military operations, according to the sources.

"The AMISOM and Jubbaland troops pulled out of the towns and al-Shabaab militants entered and have secured control without fighting," said a villager who declined to be named in print.

There was no immediate response from the AU force, known as Amisom, or Jubbaland state officials in Kismayo. Al shabaab fighters control large swathes of land in Jubbaland territory.

Source-AllAfrica.com