Islamist militia take key Somali port - residents

MOGADISHU, Aug 16 (Reuters) Islamist militia took over the key port of Hobyo in central Somalia today, expanding a territorial push from their base in Mogadishu, residents said.

Heavily-armed fighters on battle-wagons rode into Hobyo around dawn to take control of the town without any fighting, said inhabitants reached by telephone.

The Islamists' latest move -- consolidating their grip on a swathe of south-central Somalia since taking Mogadishu in June -- is a further challenge to the virtually powerless interim government based in the provincial town of Baidoa.

With talks in Khartoum aimed at producing a power-sharing agreement between the two sides effectively stalled, diplomats say the Islamists are taking advantage of the political impasse to increase their influence on the ground.

''They are very smart, they are gradually consolidating their territory, while the government looks on helplessly,'' said one Western diplomat who tracks Somalia closely.

At the weekend, Islamist fighters seized another two strategic coastal towns -- Harardheere and Eldher -- vowing to rid the area of piracy that has made the country's Indian Ocean waters some of the most dangerous in the world.

REUTERS SKU KN1405