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Kenyan Police Fire on Protesters
Odinga says 7 killed, calls for sanctions
By Kevin Spak
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Posted Jan 17, 08 8:39 AM CST
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(Newser)
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Kenyan police clashed with protesters in the streets of Nairobi today; opposition leader Raila Odinga claims seven were killed as police fired on angry crowds protesting president Mwai Kibaki’s disputed reelection. One witness said police fired live rounds “indiscriminately,” despite assurances that only batons and teargas were authorized. The BBC confirms at least two deaths in the second of three days of planned protests; four were killed yesterday.
Local television showed police shooting one man in the back and then kicking him yesterday, in what one opposition member called a “cold blooded execution.” Odinga called for international sanctions, while the European Parliament advocated cutting EU aid to Kibaki’s government, funneling the money instead into humanitarian programs. The government, in turn, said it would “not be blackmailed.”