Kenya offers troops to Somalia, Kenya offers to boost AU force in Somalia.President Sharif meets Kibaki and Museveni in Nairobi, Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Kenya says it is prepared to send troops to boost the African Union force fighting militant Islamists in Somalia, officials said.

Kenya launched a military effort in Somalia last month to expel militants from regions near the Kenyan border. Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said he could easily offer several battalions to help keep the peace in Somalia, BBC Kenya reported.The Kenyan government has accused the group al-Shabaab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia, of a number of abductions in Kenyan territory. The militant Islamist group has denied the allegations and says it will retaliate against Kenya for its incursion into Somali territory.The BBC said the AU has about 9,000 troops in Somalia, mostly in Mogadishu. The AU force is currently made up of Ugandan and Burundian soldiers although Djibouti and Sierra Leone are expected to have troops in Somalia by the end of the year.

Kenya offers to boost AU force in Somalia

President Sharif meets Kibaki and Museveni in Nairobi, Kenya

Somalia’s president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is meeting his Kenyan and Ugandan counterparts in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

President Sharif and his entourage arrived in Nairobi early on Wednesday for a two day visit to attend a meeting between the three East African leaders in Nairobi.The three head of states, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Yuweri Museveni of Uganda are reportedly discussing on the current situation in Somalia and the ongoing Kenyan military activities inside Somalia.On October 24, President Sharif faulted the Kenyan incursion into Somalia, saying that Kenya’s military interventions in parts of his country were unnecessary. But Kenyan denied any wrongdoing.Sharif said both his government and the Somali people disapprove Kenyan military deployment in parts of the country and called it not engage in any suspicious interventions that may raise public eyebrows.The president said Kenyan support in terms of training and logistics was welcome but his government and the people of Somalia were opposed to the presence of the Kenyan army inside Somalia.His comment sparked a diplomatic row between the two neighbouring countries, forcing Mogadishu to send its Prime Minister to Nairobi in a bid to mend relations