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Kenyan Prez Agrees to Form Unity Gov't

Posted Jan 5, 08 6:08 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki today pledged to form a unity government, after talks with the top US diplomat for Africa aimed at solving the country's violent post-election crisis, the BBC reports. Jendayi Frazer met first with opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has said he will not negotiate unless Kibaki steps down. Another meeting is planned.

Kibaki is "ready to form a government of national unity that would not only unite Kenyans but would also help in the healing and reconciliation process," his official statement said. Over 350 people have been killed in rioting and tribal violence since the Dec. 27 election, which Odinga accuses Kibaki of rigging. A UN official estimated that half a million Kenyans need food and shelter; over 180,000 have been forced from their homes.
Sources: BBC, Washington Post

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Maize is handed out to displaced people who are taking shelter at a sports arena on the outskirts of the slum of Kibera, Nairobi, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008. The leading U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi...   (Associated Press)
United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer talks to the media during a press conference at the US Embassy in this September, 2007 file photo. Frazer has flown to Nairobi for...   (Getty Images)
Displaced people and their belongings are spread out beside the main road near the town of Burnt Forest, some 35 kilometers from Eldoret, Kenya, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. Kenya's opposition party called Friday...   (Associated Press)
Riot police patrol the slum of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, in an effort to prevent people taking the streets in mass protest, Saturday Jan. 5, 2008. Riot police are patrolling the slum in an effort to...   (Associated Press)
A police officer kicks a resident of the Kibera slum, Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday Jan. 5, 2008. Some 300 people have been killed and 100,000 made homeless in violent protests and clashes since the vote....   (Associated Press)
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga rally in the streets of Mombasa, Kenya, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008. Several hundred gathered near a mosque to protest against President Kibaki's re-election. (AP...   (Associated Press)
Biscuits are handed out to children as they take shelter at a sports arena on the outskirts of the slum of Kibera, Nairobi, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008. The leading U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer...   (Associated Press)
Children receive biscuits as they take shelter at a sports arena on the outskirts of the slum of Kibera, Nairobi, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)   (Associated Press)
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