(SomaliNet) Ethiopian troops withdrew from the southern Somali city of Kismayu, leaving it in the hands of Somalia's interim government until African Union (AU) peacekeepers arrive, officials said on Friday. The strategic port was the last major city the Ethiopians and government forces took in their swift December victory over militant Islamists who had controlled most of southern Somalia for six months. "Yesterday afternoon, our friends who have been helping us in training and security left," Somali Kismayu Police Chief Abdi Mohamed Abdulle told Reuters, adding the Ethiopian contingent had amounted to about 2,000 soldiers.