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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

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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/ 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 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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/ 9 January 2008

AU chief meets leaders in Kenya crisis

African Union chief John Kufuor met Kenyan leaders on Wednesday to try to break a political deadlock following disputed presidential polls that sparked widespread violence and left at least 600 dead. President Mwai Kibaki, whose re-election 11 days ago triggered the unrest, denied there was any national crisis in his meeting with Kufuor.

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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

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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/ 3 January 2008

Kenya rally halted after day of battles

The Attorney General on Thursday called for an independent probe into Kenya’s election after a day of battles in Nairobi between police and demonstrators disputing the re-election of President Mwai Kibaki. The opposition called off a rally in a central park, saying it wanted to save lives, after a day of fighting during which police fired live rounds in the air.

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/ 3 January 2008

Desmond Tutu in Kenya mediation bid

South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu was in Nairobi on Thursday to try to mediate between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga over their election dispute, party officials said. An official from Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party said Tutu was expected to try and persuade Odinga to sit down with Kibaki and seek a joint resolution.

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/ 2 January 2008

Push to end ethnic strife in Kenya

Diplomatic efforts accelerated on Wednesday to resolve the crisis in Kenya, where post-election violence has threatened to escalate into tribal war, with tens of thousands displaced and hundreds murdered. The dispute over last week’s presidential ballot has triggered Kenya’s worst urban unrest in 25 years.

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/ 1 January 2008

Post-election death toll soars in Kenya

Police raids, arson and tribal attacks over the last 24 hours have claimed more than 100 lives in Kenya, police and officials said on Tuesday, bringing the toll for five days of post-election bloodshed to 299. ”At least 30 have burned to death inside a church in the Kiamba area,” a police commander said.