Witnesses say Ethiopian and Somali government troops have clashed with al-Shabab militants in southwestern Somalia.

VOA's Somali Service reports the sides battled Tuesday in a village between the towns of Luq and Bardale. Bardale is located 60 kilometers west of Baidoa, an al-Shabab stronghold that was once the seat of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Somalia's deputy prime minister said the allied government and Ethiopian forces are headed toward Baidoa and will take the area within days.

Mohamed Mahmud Ibrahim said the regions will be liberated within this week, and that people will say their Friday prayers in freedom.

The Somali government declared Monday it would “intensify” a campaign to weaken al-Shabab, which is allied with al-Qaida, and broaden what it called “safety zones.”

The government, with help from Ethiopia, Kenya, and the African Union, has pushed al-Shabab out of the capital, Mogadishu, the central town of Beledweyne, and other areas in recent months.

The militants still control large sections of southern and central Somalia, and continue to carry out bomb attacks in Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab has been trying to overthrow the government and set up a strict Islamic state in Somalia since 2007. The United States has designated the group as a terrorist organization.

Al-Qaida recently announced a formal alliance with al-Shabab, but al-Qaida is believed to have provided the Somali group with fighters and training for several years.