Angelina, who claimed Zahara was an Aids orphan when she adopted her in July 2005, has been left reeling after a 24-year-old woman came forward and begged the actress to return her daughter.

Mentewab Dawit Lebiso, who insists she is Zahara's birth mother, said: "I want my daughter to come home to see where she is from. Her grandmother and I both tried very hard to raise her, and I want her to come home to regain her identity.

Adoption specialist Jerri Jenista told In Touch Weekly magazine: "If some family member comes in and leaves the child at an orphanage and signs her over, and then the mother wants her back, you can make the argument that the person didn't truly understand that their child was gone forever."

'Legal adoption'
Wide Horizons for Children, the agency Angelina adopted from, claims the adoption was done legally. The agency's Ethiopian representative, Dr Tsegaye Berhe, said: "We have to trust the documents we received from the local government.

She signed a document saying, 'My daughter had died and she left the child behind.' "Angelina Jolie has no obligation to keep in touch with Zahara's blood family. It's up to the adoptive parent, we cannot force them."

Angelina's friends have dismissed Lebiso's claims and insist Zahara has no family. One pal said: "Angelina believes that Zahara is an orphan and the woman who claims to be her mother is mistaken. Government papers said Zahara was an Aids orphan and Angie had no reason to believe otherwise.