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'Sickening Brutality' Spreads in Kenya

Annan meets with opposition leader

By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 27, 2008 10:06 PM CST

(Newser) – Ethnic violence and revenge killing continued unchecked in western Kenya today, with at least 17 more people beaten, hacked, or burned to death by mobs engaged in what the BBC correspondent calls  "sickening brutality" since last month’s contested presidential election. The death toll is nearing 750, the BBC reports, as former UN chief Kofi Annan spent a sixth day in the conflict-ravaged country trying to negotiate a peace deal.

Annan met with opposition leader Raila Odinga and asked the two sides to appoint reps for official talks. Odinga insists that President Mwai Kibaki must step down before settlement talks can be held.  One tribesman vowed to the AP that the bloodshed would continue: “For every one Kikuyu killed, we shall avenge their killing with three.”

This photo released by Presidential Press Services shows Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki with the former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, at State House Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008, after Annan visited the  displaced people in the  Rift Valley Province.  (AP Photo/Presidential Press Services- HO)
This photo released by Presidential Press Services shows Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki with the former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, at State House Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008,...   (Associated Press)
A Kenyan policeman helps a child down from a truck as Kenyans arrive at a camp for the displaced in Nakuru, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Ethnic clashes convulsed western Kenya on Sunday as gangs fought with crude weapons and set homes ablaze in this tourist gateway, pushing the death...
A Kenyan policeman helps a child down from a truck as Kenyans arrive at a camp for the displaced in Nakuru, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Ethnic clashes convulsed western Kenya on Sunday as gangs fought...   (Associated Press)
A young man wounded during clashes recovers in the hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Ethnic clashes convulsed western Kenya on Sunday as gangs fought with crude weapons and set homes ablaze in this tourist gateway, pushing the death toll from a month of violence over the country's...
A young man wounded during clashes recovers in the hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Ethnic clashes convulsed western Kenya on Sunday as gangs fought with crude weapons and set homes ablaze...   (Associated Press)
A man with head wounds sustained during recent clashes lies in the hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Ethnic clashes convulsed western Kenya on Sunday as gangs fought with crude weapons and set homes ablaze in this tourist gateway, pushing the death toll from a month of violence...
A man with head wounds sustained during recent clashes lies in the hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Ethnic clashes convulsed western Kenya on Sunday as gangs fought with crude weapons...   (Associated Press)
Kenyan women carrying their furniture, arrive at a church where dozens of families who had their houses burned down, or fled for safety, are now living, in Nakuru, Kenya, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. Gunfire erupted in the town and young men vowed revenge as the death toll from two days...
Kenyan women carrying their furniture, arrive at a church where dozens of families who had their houses burned down, or fled for safety, are now living, in Nakuru, Kenya, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. Gunfire...   (Associated Press)
Patrick Wanderi, 35, who was attacked with machetes and a metal bar, watches as a doctor prepares local anaesthetic prior to stitching his wounds, as he lies sharing a bed with another wounded man in the hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. Sporadic gunshots sounded Saturday as police...
Patrick Wanderi, 35, who was attacked with machetes and a metal bar, watches as a doctor prepares local anaesthetic prior to stitching his wounds, as he lies sharing a bed with another wounded man in...   (Associated Press)
A Kenyan soldier attempts to remove a burning roadblock, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008 in Naivasha, Kenya, during ethnic clashes. Gangs armed with machetes and bows and arrows burned and hacked to death members of a rival tribe in western Kenya Sunday, as the death toll from the latest explosion of...
A Kenyan soldier attempts to remove a burning roadblock, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008 in Naivasha, Kenya, during ethnic clashes. Gangs armed with machetes and bows and arrows burned and hacked to death members...   (Associated Press)
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