Annan off to Kenya
2008-01-14 12:05
Geneva - Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan will travel to Kenya on Tuesday in a bid to resolve the country's political crisis which has claimed hundreds of lives, says his spokesperson.
"Mr Annan will arrive in Nairobi tomorrow," a spokesperson for his Global Humanitarian Forum think tank in Geneva said.
Annan would lead a panel of African elder statesmen trying to find a resolution to the crisis that had stricken Kenya since its election on December 27.
He appealed on Friday to "all Kenyan leaders, government as well as the opposition in the country to avoid any measures or steps that would further compromise the search for an amicable solution to the country's crisis".
Annan had agreed to work with both President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to try to resolve the crisis, sparked by the contested re-election of Kibaki to the presidency.
Odinga accused Kibaki of rigging the presidential elections, and the news of Kibaki's election victory sparked nationwide riots that had descended into tribal vendettas.
The violence left at least 700 people dead and forced nearly 260 000 people from their homes.