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MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Yemeni rebels have sent arms in the last few days to support Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab insurgents, the Somali defence minister said on Saturday.

Al Shabaab, which is fighting to impose strict Islamic rule on Somalia, has said it is ready to send reinforcements to Yemen should the U.S. carry out strikes on Islamist militants there.

"Yemeni rebels sent two boats loaded with military logistics, light weapons, Kalashnikovs and ammunition, and hand grenades -- which is fuelling the flames in a country already burning," Sheikh Yusuf Mohammad Siad told Reuters by phone.

Somalia has had no effective central government for 19 years. The West's efforts to install one have been undermined most recently by the insurgency led by al Shabaab, which Washington views as al Qaeda's proxy in the region.

Western security agencies say Somalia's appeal is growing as a safe haven for foreign jihadists using it to plot attacks in the region and beyond.

"I think their intention is a worldwide network that can wage global war, and cause chaos in the whole region," the minister said. He said the boats carrying weapons from Yemen had docked in the southern port of Kismayu, which is under al Shabaab's control, last week.

CLASHES

Ten people were killed on Saturday in fighting between al Shabaab and the pro-government Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca group around Dusamareb, 560 km (350 miles) north of Mogadishu.