Johannesburg - United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived Thursday evening in South Africa on the second leg of her seven-nation African tour.

Clinton arrived from Kenya, where she met with the beleaguered president of Somalia and promised more aid to fight insurgents, and took part in a trade conference.

In South Africa, the continent's largest economy, Clinton is scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, meet former president Nelson Mandela and visit HIV/AIDS projects bankrolled by the US government.

Clinton and Nkoana-Mashabane are expected to discuss the situation in neighbouring Zimbabwe, where the survival of a fragile power- sharing agreement is threatened by a renewed crackdown by the state against members of the former opposition.

After visiting South Africa, she will continue her tour in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.(dpa)