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Top US envoy leaves Kenya
11/01/2008 10:02 - (SA)
Nairobi - Top United States Africa envoy Jendayi Frazer left Kenya overnight, said a US embassy source on Friday, following a week of talks that failed to break a bitter standoff between feuding Kenyan leaders after disputed polls.
"She left overnight," said an embassy official said, requesting anonymity.
During a week in Kenya, Frazer had joined efforts led by African Union chairperson John Kufuor for compromise between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga after disputed presidential polls sparked clashes that left some 600 dead and a quarter of a million displaced.
But Kufuor left on Thursday without a deal, saying that the two rivals would now work with former United Nations chief Kofi Annan to try to end the turmoil.
The United States, which had been heavily involved in diplomatic efforts to end the deadlock, applauded the idea, along with Ban Ki-moon, Annan's successor at the UN and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
But there was confusion over just what Annan's role would be, and the two sides remained locked in their positions.
State Department spokesperson Tom Casey said on Thursday that Frazer's imminent return to Washington "should not be seen as lack of engagement or interest on the part of the US."
He said: "Unfortunately, there has been no resolution of the crisis yet, but we are continuing to work with the African Union and with others to try and see that be resolved."
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