World leaders have pledged support for political and military measures to fight Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist militants, after a meeting in London.The UK's David Cameron, hosting the meeting, said it was vital to build a stable and prosperous Somalia, while Hillary Clinton said the world "must keep al-Shabab on the run".
A two-decade war has wrecked Somalia.
Al-Shabab militants, who recently joined with al-Qaeda, control large swathes of territory.
The country has been without a functioning central government since 1991.
The current transitional government has direct control only in the capital, Mogadishu.
Mr Cameron said setting up an inclusive government was vital to the country's future, and must work alongside military action taken by the African Union (AU)."Those young people who take up guns for al-Shabab need to be able to see that there is a future in a prosperous stable Somalia that offers them what everyone wants, which is a job and a voice," he told a news conference.
"So the connection between military action to put huge pressure on Shabab, which has been happening, and the political process, they are two sides of the same coin."
Mrs Clinton, the US Secretary of State, promised more funding and training for the AU forces in Somalia, saying everyone concerned "must keep al-Shabab on the run".
She ruled out talks with the group, saying that its decision to join forces with al-Qaeda showed "it is not on the side of peace, stability or the Somali people".
The agreement reached at the London conference includes more help to tackle piracy and terrorism, as well as more humanitarian assistance, and better international co-ordination.
The conference backed a UN Security Council resolution increasing the number of AU troops in Somalia by 5,000 to more than 17,000, while giving the mission extra funding and extending its mandate.
Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, whose country provides the bulk of troops for AU forces in Somalia, told the gathering that African solutions to African problems worked best.
Representatives from many Somali factions attended the London conference, but al-Shabab were not invited.
The militant group said the London conference was another attempt to colonise Somalia.
"They want us under trusteeship and we will not allow that. God willing we will face the outcome with full force and stop it," said al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage.
The Islamist militants were forced out of Mogadishu last year, and are under pressure from Kenyan, Ethiopian and Somali government troops elsewhere.
On Wednesday, Ethiopian and Somali troops took control of the strategic stronghold of Baidoa, in the south-west of the country, from al-Shabab.
The BBC's Mohammed Dhore in Mogadishu says security is extremely tight in the city because of the conference, with more than 50 roadblocks compared with the usual five.
British union flags are also flying at major road junctions and government buildings, he says.
