KENYA: Kenyan Red Cross release figures on post-election dead and displaced

Record ID: 361342

  • Title: KENYA: Kenyan Red Cross release figures on post-election dead and displaced
  • Date: 5th February 2008
  • Summary: CHILD STANDING NEAR BELONGINGS CLOSE-UP OF CHILD FAMILY SEATED ON DRY GRASS WIDE VIEW OF WOMAN AND CHILDREN STANDING
  • Embargoed: 20th February 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAI2CY3EHHCS70W8PRUMKP9QUY
  • Story Text: Kenya's Red Cross said on Tuesday (February 5) some 304,000 Kenyans have been displaced by the country's post-election crisis, and that figure was likely to rise.
    The figure of 304,000 refugees did not include displacements over recent days and so would probably rise.
    "There are people - thousands of them - sleeping every night in the cold. Yes, we are giving them food. Yes we are giving them blankets, yes we are giving them water. Yes, we are giving them medical. But they are out in the open every night because the police force, first of all, is too small and secondly, because of security reasons, we're not allowed to set up camps and put up tents to accommodate women and children," said Abbas Gullet, Secretary-General Of Kenya's Red Cross Society.
    As political rivals began the toughest part of their negotiations so far, the Red Cross also said the death toll from Kenya's post-election bloodletting has risen to 1,000.
    Most of the deaths come from cycles of ethnic killings, police clashes with protesters, and looting.
    The crisis in Kenya was triggered by President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election on December 27. Opposition leader Raila Odinga says he stole the vote. International observers said the count was so chaotic it was impossible to tell who won.
    Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is the chief mediator in talks aimed at resolving the crisis.
    "No society can long remain prosperous and stable with out respect for the rule of law and human rights. And, I think we've seen it very recently in this country - a stable country in a turbulent region which had offered a safe haven to millions around this region. Suddenly, this haven is in turmoil and we need to get it right," Annan said as he met with business leaders to discuss the impact of the crisis on Kenya's economy.
    Hundreds of Kenyans who fled their homes in post-election violence, gathered in Nairobi's Jamhuri Park on Tuesday.
    "My landlord told me I had to leave because gangs were coming to attack and chop us up. It wasn't known what time they would come so I was really scared," said Joyce Atieno, who fled after notices were posted in her hometown threatening attacks.
    "I don't know anything about peace. There's nothing I know about peace. I just want to go home," added George Annan has called for a truth and reconciliation committee to be established to heal divisions lay bare the post-election violence.
    Last week, Annan's team gave Kenya's rival politicians 15 days to resolve immediate political disputes but said the deeper ethnic divisions would take much longer to mend.
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