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Dozens are killed as Kenya
erupts into violence once more
After 48 hours of bloodshed, former UN chief calls for
investigation into 'systematic abuse' of human rights
By Steve Bloomfield in Nairobi
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, yesterday called for
an investigation into "gross and systematic abuse of human rights"
in Kenya's Rift Valley after 48 hours of bloodshed that left at
least 25 people dead.
Shots were fired yesterday in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, the
latest centre of violence, where men with bows and arrows,
machetes and wooden sticks roamed the streets as gangs from
different tribes burned down hundreds of homes and attacked
residents. The charred remains of 16 people were delivered to the
town's mortuary yesterday. Many also had deep wounds from machetes.
Doctors said a further nine bodies had been recovered on Friday.
More than 700 people have now been killed since President Mwai
Kibaki was re-elected in a deeply flawed poll at the end of
December. Much of the past week had been calm, but on Friday
violence erupted once again, this time in Nakuru, a town of
300,000 people about three hours north-west of Nairobi.
Mr Annan, who has spent the past week in Kenya leading mediation
efforts between Mr Kibaki and his beaten rival, Raila Odinga, said
the violence had ceased to be about the election, and was becoming
"something else". He continued: "Let us not kid ourselves that
this is an election problem. It is much broader and much deeper.
Certain groups are being targeted."
Alongside the former Tanzanian president, Benjamin Mkapa, and
Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, Mr Annan went to the towns of
Eldoret and Molo in the Rift Valley yesterday to visit those
displaced by the unrest. More than 100,000 people have been forced
to flee their homes, with most now living in makeshift camps. The
former UN chief described the visit as "heart-wrenching".
Much of the past month's violence has been directed at Mr Kibaki's
Kikuyu tribe, with gangs of young men drawn from tribes that
backed Mr Odinga driving them off their land.
The attacks in Nakuru are the first real signs that some Kikuyus
have begun to fight back. Young Kikuyu men set up roadblocks
around the town and attacked journalists trying to cover the
violence. Nakuru, a largely Kikuyu town, had, until Friday,
escaped the worst of the violence. Many of those forced to flee
Eldoret, 75 miles further north, had sought refuge there.
Mr Annan is likely to stay in Kenya for at least another week as
he attempts to hammer out a political solution to the crisis. Mr
Odinga has said he may be willing to share power in a coalition,
but has called for fresh elections. Mr Kibaki has, so far, shown
little sign of compromising. Despite also calling for a government
of national unity, he has appointed his allies to all the key
cabinet positions.
Mr Kibaki, whose government has so far been recognised by just
four other African states, will attend an African Union summit in
Addis Ababa this week. Analysts and diplomats will be closely
watching the reception he gets from fellow leaders. The opposition
is also planning to send a delegation to the summit to lobby other
countries.
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