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7 die in latest Kenya clashes
25/01/2008 10:25 - (SA)
Nakuru - Seven people were killed in clashes in western Kenya, police said on Friday, as former United Nations chief Kofi Annan pressed for dialogue between the country's feuding leaders.
Five people were killed in Molo district and two others in the Rift Valley provincial capital, Nakuru, that had seen some of the worst fighting in recent weeks linked to the disputed December 27 elections.
A police commander said: "Five people have been hacked to death in Molo and Nakuru, where six others were slashed and wounded, including a police officer. Two people were shot dead - including a 13-year-old boy - in Molo."
Rift Valley police commander Everette Wasige said he had deployed officers to help restore order in the restive area, notably in Nakuru, where tension remained high.
Scores of deadly attacks
Witnesses said arsonists had razed scores of houses there overnight, and used piles of large stones and overturned carts to form roadblocks on some streets on Friday morning.
Wasige said: "There is chaos in town and we have deployed our officers there. The situation is not very good because we have some casualties."
A helicopter from Kenyan security forces flew over the town on Friday morning.
Along with the capital Nairobi's slums, western areas of the vast Rift Valley province had witnessed scores of deadly attacks since the widely-contested re-election of President Mwai Kibaki on December 30.
Close to 800 people had died and a quarter of a million had been displaced since the election.
The fresh violence followed a symbolic first meeting on Thursday between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga - who claimed he was robbed of the presidency - brought about by Kofi Annan.
- AFP
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