The Kenyan government said on Wednesday it has heightened security along its common border with Somalia following threats of invasion by Somali Islamist militants.

Speaking in Nairobi, Internal Security Assistant Minister Orwa Ojode said Kenya which brokered the protracted negotiations that culminated in the formation of the transitional government of Somalia is not taking such militia threats lightly.

"I actually do not think that the presence of Kenyan forces along the Kenya-Somalia border will compromise security in the country," Ojode told journalists in Nairobi.

The fragile Western-backed Somali transitional government is coming under intense pressure from Islamist militias that control swathes of the country.

Somalia has asked for urgent foreign military intervention, a call backed by the African Union. The international community is concerned that Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network may get a grip on the failed Horn of Africa state that has been without a central government for 18 years.

"Bad elements might come into the country through some porous border, but we have our intelligence on the ground. We shall deal with them," the assistant minister vowed.

Ojode said that security forces around the country are on high alert following threats by the militants who have demanded that Kenya withdraws its military presence on its borders or they willl "destroy the tall, glass buildings in Nairobi."

Ojode spoke in the wake of reports that the al Qaida terrorist group has pitched tents in Somalia where it is fighting alongside extremists to oust the transitional government, posing a deadly threat to the stability of neighboring countries including Kenya.

The reports that Al-Muhajirun, a terrorist outfit linked to al Qaida and commanded by a Kenyan, Saleh Nabhan, have brought to Somalia some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world, posing a major concern to Kenya.

But Ojode said the government would beef up security personnel not only along the porous borders, but also around the country to avert any intended terrorist attacks.

Source: Xinhua