Somalia says Kenya committed to help defeat rebels

By Sahra Abdi
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has vowed to bolster Somalia's fight against al Qaeda-linked insurgents along its border with the Horn of Africa country, where troops from both sides are battling the rebels, the Somali prime minister said.
Last month, Somali troops and government-friendly militia took control of the border town of Beledhawo from the al Shabaab rebels. The town is a stone's throw from the Kenyan border town of Mandera.
Somalia has had no effective government for 20 years.
"Kenya has given us a commitment to give us its support to eliminate al Shabab fighters who have deployed foreign fighters in the border areas," Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said after meeting his Kenyan counterpart Raila Odinga late on Thursday.
He did not specify where the foreign jihadists are from, or the type of support that Kenya will extend.
Odinga said he had discussed with Mohamed the support Kenya will extend to Somalia in the fight against al Shabaab.
The United Nations is backing African Union efforts to stabilise Somalia and has called a high level meeting, which is likely to also discuss security, in Nairobi next week Continued