Talks to end weeks of postelection violence in Kenya resumed yesterday on thorny political issues, a day after rivals agreed on humanitarian aid.
The fighting has killed more than 1,000 people and left 300,000 homeless since the Dec. 27 presidential election, which foreign and local observers say was rigged.
Protests have deteriorated into ethnic clashes, with much of the anger aimed at Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, long resented for dominating politics and the economy.
Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, who last month brought together Kibaki and his chief rival, Raila Odinga, warned that yesterday's agenda would be tough.
"The crisis arising out of the December 2007 elections, that is going to take hard negotiations, understandably give and take," he said.
The two sides agreed on Friday to take immediate action to end the violence, and said they would complete talks within 15 days on measures to resolve the political crisis. Annan said it would take up to a year to solve the deeper problems.
On Monday, the two sides signed a two-page agreement on immediate measures, including helping people return to their homes safely and providing food and shelter for the displaced.
They also welcomed a UN human rights team to investigate the violence, and agreed on Annan's plan for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission with local and international jurists.
Streets appeared calm yesterday in western Kenya, scene of some of the worst bloodshed, after more than a week of clashes.
At least seven people were killed in battles between Kisii and Kalenjin communities in a region 250km west of the capital, Nairobi.
Hundreds of youths -- armed with bows and arrows and machetes -- have fought there for nine days, forcing approxi-mately 2,000 people to flee their homes.
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged Kenyans not to arm themselves.
"If you are asked to take up arms, reject that call," Tutu said on Monday in an interview with the BBC.
"By putting down your arms you will demonstrate the character that God gave to each of you, and to which I now appeal. It is in your power to stop the violence -- if you act as one," he said.
The Kenya Red Cross on Monday put the official toll at 1,000 killed, thousands injured and 304,000 homeless.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese