US boosts Somali arms, Hillary warns Eritrea

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (L) and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane (R) give a press conference yesterday at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, South Africa. Hillary arrived in South Africa on the second leg of her African tour.Photo: AFP

The United States plans to double its arms flow to Somalia, an official said Thursday, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threw support behind the war-torn country's embattled president and warned neighbouring Eritrea to halt backing insurgents.
Hillary on Thursday threatened sanctions against Eritrea for aiding a Somali extremist group she says is trying to launch worldwide terrorist attacks from Somalia.
Hillary held the highest-level US meeting yet with Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, whom she described as the best hope of preventing the Horn of Africa nation from becoming a new global hub for Islamic extremism.
Hillary offered "very strong support" to Sharif, a young Islamist cleric who has nonetheless welcomed US aid in bringing stability to a nation that has languished in a state of virtual anarchy for nearly 20 years.
In Washington, a State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity said President Barack Obama's administration planned to double its supply of arms and ammunition to Somalia from 40 to 80 tonnes.
Hillary issued a strong warning to Eritrea, which Washington and its African allies say is funding the Shebab, an al-Qaeda-inspired movement spearheading a three-month-old offensive to topple Sharif.