Somalia facing 'foreign invasion'

Somalia's president has condemned the presence of foreign fighters in his country as he called for help to tackle armed opposition groups seeking to topple his government."Somalia is being invaded by foreign fighters, whose main purpose is to turn the country into an Afghanistan or an Iraq," Sharif Ahmed said on Monday.The appeal came a day after after the al-Shabab group claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide attack in the Somali capital on Sunday.Authorities suspect the bomber, a teenage boy, was one of hundreds foreigners, from countries including Pakistan, Yemen and the United States, that the UN believes have joined Somali groups."We urge Somalis to defend against those groups that include foreigners, and we ask the international community to back us," Ahmed said at a news conference at his Villa Somalia residence.