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They have forced women to wear veils, banned dances and other events at which men and women mix and outlawed the chewing of khat, a popular drug.

Analysts said that an influx of hundreds of foreign jihadis from Britain, Pakistan and elsewhere has further radicalised al-Shabaab and transformed it into a more effective guerrilla force.

With the help of foreign fighters al-Shabaab began a fresh offensive in May, carrying out at least one suicide attack, in which a senior minister was killed in Beledweyne, near Ethiopia.

Despite a UN arms embargo imposed more than 16 years ago, the Islamists remain well supplied. Last month the African Union called for sanctions on Eritrea for arming al-Shabaab, which Eritrea denies.

Living in fear

— Somalia has been embroiled in civil war, lacking a functioning central government, for 18 years

— 18,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict since the start of 2006

— 1.2 million people are displaced within Somalia and more than 200,000 have fled to Kenya

— Less than 1 per cent of Somalia’s population is Christian, with the rest Sunni Muslim. Most Christians belong to the Roman Catholic Church or Church of the Nazarene

— Somali Christians keep a low profile, mostly worshipping in house churches, but have been the target of mob attacks and kidnappings

— A Somalian who had moved to Britain was shot dead in his home country in April last year; Daud Hassan Ali’s widow said that it was because he had converted to Christianity

— Christian pressure groups say that five Christians were killed for their religion last year

Source: Times database

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