Kenyan violence 'could become permanent', warns UN official

The violence and unrest sweeping Kenya is in danger of turning into a long-term problem, UN humanitarian aid chief John Holmes warned today.

Holmes, who was holding talks with senior EU aid officials and politicians at the European Parliament, said things were getting worse because of increased tribal clashes.

"The situation is deteriorating quite sharply at the moment with the violence we have seen over the last few days," he said.

"We had obviously hoped this would be something relatively short term, while the situation calmed down," he added. "So we were preparing to deal with these humanitarian consequences over a time scale of say, three months. But as you know you all see the situation is beginning to look more serious than that."

Holmes said Kenyan political leaders had to ensure the fighting was brought to a halt. He said the fighting had already led to the displacement of 300,000 people who now need shelter and trauma counselling.

"They have to take responsibility for what is happening, for stopping it, for stopping people acting in their names," said Holmes.

He said the "main concern" of the United Nations was that the tribal fighting does not lead to a "sort of downward spiral of violence," which he said would become harder to stop, and which would lead to much wider humanitarian problems in Kenya.

Holmes, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, feared that the rise in fighting could disrupt aid shipments. He said there were initial problems hindering aid trucks around the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.

He said a humanitarian crisis in Kenya would add to already "enormous challenges" the UN faces in north-east Africa, notably in providing aid in Somalia and other countries.

The UN's adviser on genocide warned Kenya's political leaders that they could be held accountable for the violence.

Francis Deng, the UN secretary-general's special adviser for the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities, announced he was sending an envoy to examine the post-election turmoil.

UN aid agencies in Geneva said that they were increasingly concerned about violence against women and children.

"The state fails to live up to its task of protection," said a spokeswoman for the UN's children fund who said people forced from there homes and gathering in refugee camps were not spared from violence and aggression.

In a camp north of the Rift Valley, a group of around 20 women who said they had been raped, were prevented by locals from talking to UNICEF, she said.

"A group of 15 young men intervened and warned the women that if they talk, they would again become the target of violence including their children," she said.

She said the camp was under government responsibility. "It is up to the government to protect the camp."

The spokeswoman said that people in the camps live in terrible conditions and in some places cannot regularly receive drinking water. There were between 80,000 and 100,000 children under the age of five among them.

Aid shipments are becoming increasingly difficult because truck drivers are afraid of being attacked and refuse to leave Mombasa, she added.

"Some trucks are blocked on the roads in Kenya," she said, adding that of the 76 trucks that were delivering food aid, several had to stop because of insecurity.

"What is happening in Kenya at the moment is a real humanitarian tragedy with a terrible impact on children and women."