Somalia: Kenya army ready for attack

Meanwhile, Washington has sent weapons to the Somalia government after the go-ahead from the UN Security Council, sources told Reuters. When a moderate Islamist was elected president in January, there was hope he could end nearly two decades of bloodshed in Somalia by reconciling with hardliners who want to impose a strict version of Islamic law across Somalia.

But Osama bin Laden declared President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed an enemy in an audio tape released in March. He called on the insurgents to topple the government.

The Washington Post on Thursday said arms and ammunition had been sent to the Somalia government in a move signalling that President Obama’s administration wanted to thwart the hardliners. “It’s confirmed. They received approval from the UN Security Council,” an international security source said.

While there is a UN arms embargo on Somalia, the source said the Security Council had agreed to a waiver procedure for the new weapons and ammunition.

Another foreign security source said arms had come into Somalia for the government via Uganda, which provides half the 4,300 African Union troops protecting key sites in Mogadishu.

Reported by Dominic Wabala, Kenneth Ogosia, Oliver Mathenge, Abdullahi Jama and Reuters