"The president on Monday will make an official request for a peacekeeping force of around 20,000 troops to help disarm the warlords in Somalia," spokesman Adam Thiam told reporters in Addis Ababa.

Yusuf will make the request when addressing the AU's Peace and Security Council.

"He estimates that there are around 15 million small arms in the streets of Somalia," Thiam said.

The pan-Africa body's spokesman did not estimate the cost of sending the force to Somalia.

Yusuf, who is on a three-day visit to Addis Ababa, where the AU is headquartered, was expected to meet AU commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konare, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Ethiopian government officials to discuss issues on peace and development.

Yusuf, a veteran Somali faction leader and soldier, was sworn in as the new president of Somalia last Thursday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, by members of the Somali transitional federal assembly.

During his swearing in, Yusuf urged the international community to help his nascent administration disarm the hundreds of gunmen allied to various clan-related factions across the country.

The new president is still based in the Kenyan capital, because Mogadishu is still considered not safe enough for parliament or Yusuf to move to.

Solana said the EU was ready to assist Somalia, which has been governed by unruly clan warlords since dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.

"The EU will be ready to help Somalia once the different organs of government are in place and the government submits a formal request for assistance," Solana told reporters in Addis Ababa.

"Peace in Somalia is fundamental for African and world stability," he added.

"In terms of security, African countries are keen ... and the bulk of this responsibility will be on the African countries. The EU would be ready to support these efforts," Solana said, reffering to AU efforts to restore stability in Africa.

On Friday, British Minister for Africa Chris Mullin said his country had offered to help train security forces in Somalia to disarm gunmen in the capital.

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