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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Obama Wades Into Kenya Fray

Candidate tells opposition leader in father's homeland he's worried about violence

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(Newser) – Barack Obama called Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga in an effort to help defuse the bloody post-election standoff in the African nation. "He called to express grave concern over the election outcome," Odinga's spokesman told the AP. Obama's father was from Kenya, where 500 people have died in brutal ethnic-cleansing-style violence since the disputed December 27 election.

Obama also plans to call Mwai Kibaki, stepping up US pressure on the Kenyan president. The chairman of the African Union is due to arrive today, the AP reports, but Odinga has dismissed Kibaki's offer of power-sharing talks as "gimmickry." Meanwhile, the top American envoy to Africa says the violence "hasn't shaken our confidence in Kenya as a regional hub."

Kenyans reach out to grab clothes handed out by the Kenyan Red Cross, Tuesday, Jan.8, 2008 in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. Kenya's president and his chief rival made key concessions to end the dispute over the country's elections, calling off protests and agreeing to talks under pressure from...
Kenyans reach out to grab clothes handed out by the Kenyan Red Cross, Tuesday, Jan.8, 2008 in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. Kenya's president and his chief rival made key concessions to end the dispute...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., visits with supporters at a rally, Monday, Jan. 7, 2008, in Rochester, N..H. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., visits with supporters at a rally, Monday, Jan. 7, 2008, in Rochester, N..H. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)   (Associated Press)
A boy opens the gate of the school named after U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama in the village of Nyagoma-Kogelo, birth place of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama's father, western Kenya, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. Barack Obama phoned Kenya's opposition leader as diplomatic attempts to end Kenya's political...
A boy opens the gate of the school named after U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama in the village of Nyagoma-Kogelo, birth place of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama's father, western Kenya,...   (Associated Press)
Sarah Hussein Obama, grandmother of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama sits in front of her home in the village of Nyagoma-Kogelo, western Kenya, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. Barack Obama phoned Kenya's opposition leader as diplomatic attempts to end Kenya's political crisis intensified Tuesday. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Sarah Hussein Obama, grandmother of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama sits in front of her home in the village of Nyagoma-Kogelo, western Kenya, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. Barack Obama phoned Kenya's...   (Associated Press)
A signed electoral poster of U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. senator Barack Obama hangs in the home of his grandmother Sarah, in the village of Nyagoma-Kogelo, western Kenya, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. Barack Obama phoned Kenya's opposition leader as diplomatic attempts to end Kenya's political crisis intensified Tuesday....
A signed electoral poster of U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. senator Barack Obama hangs in the home of his grandmother Sarah, in the village of Nyagoma-Kogelo, western Kenya, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008....   (Associated Press)
Opposition leader Raila Odinga listen to questions from the media in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
Opposition leader Raila Odinga listen to questions from the media in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)   (Associated Press)
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