Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed promised his forces would restore law and order to Mogadishu, after al-Shabaab militants retreated from the capital in the early hours of Saturday following hours of fighting, DPA reported.
"It is time to harvest the fruits of peace," he told a press conference at his heavily fortified palace.
The president - himself once a member of an Islamic group that had controlled parts of the country in the past - called on citizens to inform the governmental authorities of any Islamist activity or militants hiding in the capital.
The prime minister confirmed that the city was under the control of the weak central government, for the first time in years.
"We confirm today that Mogadishu is under the full control of the Somali government and we will continue to eradicate al-Shabaab in all regions of Somalia," Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the premier, told reporters.