New African Union peacekeepers arrive in Mogadishu

A military transport plane delivered 500 new soldiers from Burundi, which will reinforce a 3,500-strong AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM.

"The soldiers were carrying small arms, and there was not much equipment on board the airplane," said a source at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport, which is a major base for AMISOM peacekeepers.

The delivery of fresh troops follows the deadliest attack against the AMISOM force in Mogadishu, where two suicide bombers killed 11 soldiers and wounded 15 others.

Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed recently said he will rule the country under Islamic law, while suggesting that the AMISOM force will leave after Somalia is stable.

A group of self-appointed Somali Muslim scholars recently issued a declaration calling for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of AMISOM peacekeepers within 120 days, beginning on March 1.

Islamist rebels have vowed to continue the anti-government insurgency, despite the election of moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif as Somali president.

AMISOM soldiers, drawn from Uganda and Burundi, have come under increasing scrutiny following the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in January.