Militants turning to children in bid to take over country

Somalia's embattled President has accused Islamic extremist militias of recruiting child soldiers in their efforts to take over the country.

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said yesterday that Hizbul Islam and al Shabaab, a militant group with links to al Qaeda, were training and deploying children in frontline fighting.

The accusation came as the capital, Mogadishu, was braced for the arrival of a controversial 40-tonne "weapons donation" from the United States and Western diplomats warned that the United Nations-backed administration could fall "within days" if government forces were unable to turn the tide against insurgents.

But there are fears that the show of support from the US will weaken the Sharif Government, which is portrayed as a foreign puppet by its opponents.

The Sharif Government, considered a moderate Islamic administration, is in a fight for survival with an alliance of extremist organisations which control much of the south of the country.

"This Government could fall within days but it is still the only administration to work with," said a diplomat in Nairobi, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The increased US support for Sheikh Sharif comes amid fears that, if the Government falls, Somalia could become a haven for foreign jihadists. The Somali President, whose forces are hemmed into a small area of the capital, declared a state of emergency last week and appealed for foreign military aid.

Ethiopia, which invaded its neighbour three years ago, has ruled out a fresh intervention and Kenya has mobilised units on its northern border but said it would not send troops. The only outside military presence is an African Union force of 4250 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi, largely confined to their Mogadishu base by constant attacks.

The new Government, which has failed to push back Islamic militias, claims the insurgents are terrorists being aided by foreign jihadists.

- INDEPENDENT