MOGADISHU, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The radical Islamist group of Al-Shabaab in Somalia on Thursday banned the operations of UN Mine Action agency in areas under the movement's control in southern Somalia.

The group, which has previously banned the work of other UN agencies, accused Mine Action of paying the salaries Somali government police force and of attempting to disrupt "the peace and justice" in areas under their control in south and centre of war-torn country.

"Furthermore, they (Mine Action) have been surveying and signposting some of the most vital and sensitive areas under the control of the Mujahideen, (holy fighters)," said the group's statement of which Xinhua got a copy.

The movement considered a terrorist entity by Somali government alleged the UN agency bribed community elders and incited them to rebel against the Islamic administrations in Al-Shabaab run territories.

The group stated that its investigations uncovered the fact that Mine Action was secretly hosting and undertaking the work of organizations that have previously been prohibited by Al-Shabaab such as UN Development Programe (UNDP), said the statement from the movement's Office for Supervising the affairs of Foreign Agencies.

Al-Shabaab vowed it will "continue to regulate and monitor the foreign agencies inside Somalia and protect the Muslims from any plots that may be against their religion, industries, safety, and health."

Mine Action operates in Somalia, a country awash with landmines and other explosive ordinance left over from decades of internal and external wars.