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/ 18 January 2008

Kenya opposition says it’s time to move on

Opposition street protests over the disputed re-election of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki will end after demonstrations planned for Friday, a spokesperson said. At least eight people have been shot dead by police during two days of protests called by Raila Odinga, leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement.

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/ 17 January 2008

Kenya police, protesters face off

Kenyan police clashed with opposition members on Thursday in a second day of unrest over President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election, and the opposition said police had killed seven. In opposition strongholds in the capital, Nairobi, and the western town of Kisumu, police fired tear gas and live bullets and struck at least two people.

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/ 16 January 2008

Rebel positions bombed in West Darfur

Fresh violence in the Sudanese state of West Darfur has restricted humanitarian work around El Geneina, with aid workers describing the region as a "no-go area". According to aid workers, who did not want to be named, two villages in Geneina were bombed on January 12 and 13 by Sudanese government Antonov planes.

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/ 16 January 2008

Kenyan police battle opposition protesters

Kenyan police battled hundreds of opposition protesters on Wednesday, killing two, as the opposition defied a ban on rallies against President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election, witnesses said. In the western opposition stronghold of Kisumu and the coastal city of Mombasa youths began gathering in the morning, some burning tyres.

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/ 16 January 2008

Musicians in Kenya lead push for alternative protests

A catchy ”song for peace” crackling over Kenyan radio is breaking pace with the litany of doom and gloom and bloody fallout from last month’s elections that dominates the air waves these days. WaKenya Pamoja (Kenya Together) carries a different message, and maybe a reason not to give up on a vote meant to uphold this nation as a beacon of democracy in a troubled region.

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/ 14 January 2008

Kenya govt rejects Annan mediation in crisis

The Kenyan government on Monday rejected a mediation mission by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan to try to end political unrest and sent a stern warning to the opposition ahead of nationwide protests. Two weeks after President Mwai Kibaki’s contested re-election sparked violence that has left hundreds dead, Annan was due in Nairobi.

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/ 11 January 2008

Kenya opposition to resume mass action

Kenya’s opposition said on Friday it planned to restart protests across the East African nation against President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election after the failure of African Union mediation. Kibaki’s government has made clear it will not tolerate opposition marches. Previous protests have led to bloody clashes between opposition supporters and security forces.

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/ 11 January 2008

Kenya tourism hurt by images of violence

Kenya’s game parks usually teem with camera-toting tourists at this time of year. Now they are all but empty after images of deadly clashes that rocked the country were beamed around the world. Operators say pictures of machete-wielding youths battling riot police have sent some tourists packing and others delaying trips or scrapping planned visits outright.

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/ 10 January 2008

AU chief fails to broker Kenya deal

African Union chairperson John Kufuor quit Kenya on Thursday without a deal to end a political crisis that has killed hundreds of people, leaving the president and opposition leader accusing each other of wrecking talks. Controversy over President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election in a December 27 vote triggered bloodletting that displaced 250 000 people.

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/ 10 January 2008

Kenya wildlife eat victims of violence

Kenya’s carnivorous wildlife — big cats and scavenger mammals and birds — may have made off with and devoured the bodies of human victims of recent post-election violence. ”There are also an unspecified number of uncollected bodies due to accessibility difficulties, and it was feared the bodies may have been consumed by animals and birds of prey,” said the Kenya Red Cross Society.

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/ 8 January 2008

Peace talks rejected in Kenya

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announced part of his new Cabinet on Tuesday, including Amos Kimunya as Finance Minister, amid a political crisis that has cost nearly 500 lives. Meanwhile, opposition leader Raila Odinga has rejected bilateral talks with Kibaki, dimming hopes for a breakthrough to end the turmoil.

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/ 8 January 2008

Crisis-hit Kenya pins hopes on AU

African Union chief John Kufuor was due in Nairobi on Tuesday on a crucial mission to broker talks between Kenya’s rival leaders and end the political turmoil that has claimed hundreds of lives. Ahead of Kufuor’s arrival, President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga jousted with various proposals that would allow the two men to sit down together.

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/ 8 January 2008

Attack on Tanzanian reporters denounced

Media rights watchdog Reporters sans Frontières on Tuesday condemned an attack on two Tanzanian journalists who were beaten and had acid thrown at them. The Paris-based rights group said assailants attacked Saeed Kubenea, publisher of Swahili weekly Mwanahalisi, and its editor, Ndimara Tegambwage.

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/ 8 January 2008

Kenya opposition says talks hinge on mediator

Kenya’s opposition said on Tuesday it would only hold talks with President Mwai Kibaki as part of international mediation efforts to end post-election unrest. The head of the African Union, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, was due to arrive in Nairobi on Tuesday in a push for dialogue between Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga.

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/ 7 January 2008

Kenyans pray for peace, await aid

Kenyans across the political divide prayed for peace on Sunday while aid workers sought to bring relief to nearly 200 000 refugees from post-election violence. ”Our leaders have failed us. They have brought this catastrophe upon us. So now we are turning to the Almighty to save Kenya,” said Jane Riungu, leading her five children to a hilltop church.

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/ 6 January 2008

Health crisis looms in Kenya

A devastating health emergency looms in Kenya where an explosion of post-election violence has killed hundreds and displaced a quarter of a million others, British charity Merlin warned on Sunday. Local aid workers fear an outbreak of diseases in crowded make-shift camps in schools, hospitals and churches, most of which were still out of reach.

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/ 5 January 2008

Kenya’s Kibaki ready for unity govt

Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki said on Saturday he was ready to form a government of national unity to end post-election violence that has killed hundreds of people and forced 250 000 to flee their homes. The development could be a breakthrough after a week-long stalemate between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

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/ 5 January 2008

UN concern at Kenyan humanitarian crisis

United Nations agencies have expressed increasing concern for the plight of up to 250 000 Kenyans displaced by post-election violence, as international diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis continued. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that at least 100 000 people in the northern Rift Valley alone needed immediate help.

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/ 4 January 2008

Tutu sees hope for Kenya deal

President Mwai Kibaki is open to the idea of a coalition government to end Kenya’s post-election crisis but only if the opposition meets his terms, South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu said on Friday. ”There is a great deal of hope,” said Tutu, trying to mediate to end turmoil that has killed more than 300 people and threatened one of Africa’s strongest economies.

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/ 4 January 2008

Kenya police deploy to block rally

Huge numbers of Kenyan police deployed on Friday to block an opposition rally in Nairobi as Washington sent its top Africa diplomat to help resolve a post-election crisis that has claimed more then 350 lives. On Thursday, police had used water cannon and tear gas to disperse opposition supporters marching on the city centre for a "million-man" rally.