Call for peacekeepers to quell Kenya violence

Kenya’s opposition leader today called for the African Union to send peacekeepers to stem violence sparked by the country’s disputed presidential election.

“The AU should bring in peacekeepers because the violence in Kenya is appalling,” said Raila Odinga in his home village in western Kenya.

Western Kenya has been at the centre of fighting that has killed more than 800 people and engulfed the country since the December 27 election, which returned President Mwai Kibaki to power after a tally that foreign and local observers say was rigged.

The violence has often degenerated into ethnic clashes over decades-old grudges about land and resources.

Yesterday young men from rival ethnic groups hunted each other through the streets of the western town of Eldoret, burning houses and blocking roads a day after the country’s political foes agreed to try to end weeks of violence.

Both men who signed Friday’s deal were still talking tough. Kibaki accused his opponents of orchestrating the violence, and Odinga said Kibaki’s “aggressive statements” were undermining efforts to quell the fighting.

With the two sides trading blame, as they have done repeatedly since the outset of the crisis, the fighting has continued unabated.