Scramble for Peace After Kenya Carnage

African Union boss in talks today in bid to control spiraling violence
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 2, 2008 5:26 AM CST
Scramble for Peace After Kenya Carnage
Kenyans travel by foot as transportation remains limited in the city, following days of rioting, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008, in Nairobi, Kenya. The killing of up to 50 ethnic Kikuyus in the Rift Valley city of Eldoret brought the death toll from four days of rioting to more than 275, raising fears of further...   (Associated Press)

Political leaders scrambled yesterday to contain violence in Kenya as rioting and retaliation over an election dispute appeared to leave the nation teetering on the edge of bloody chaos, the BBC reports. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes. At least 300 people have been killed, including 30 burned alive as they sought refuge in a church. The president of the African Union is due in Kenya today for talks.

A spokesman for President Mwai Kibaki accused supporters of Raila Odinga, the loser in a hotly disputed election, of ethnic cleansing. Leaders from both sides have called for an end to the killing. The Kenyan Red Cross estimates that 70,000 people have been displaced in the country's Rift Valley, and Uganda says hundreds of Kenyans have fled across the border. (More Kenya stories.)

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