Dozens are killed as Kenya erupts into violence once more

The number of those dead, wounded and evicted after Kenya’s farcical elections in December continues to mount. Over 100,000 people remain displaced. Violence between ethnic groups – which stems from the ethnically based politics of the electoral system – is recurring as no political solution seems to be materializing.

Don’t be fooled by Kofi Annan’s attention grabbing claim that “this is an election problem. It is much broader and much deeper. Certain groups are being targeted.”

This is a political problem, and it stems from a U.S.-backed client regime which after trying to scam a restive electorate has refused to negotiate seriously with its rivals.

Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, yesterday called for an investigation into “gross and systematic abuse of human rights” in Kenya’s Rift Valley after 48 hours of bloodshed that left at least 25 people dead.

Shots were fired yesterday in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, the latest centre of violence, where men with bows and arrows, machetes and wooden sticks roamed the streets as gangs from different tribes burned down hundreds of homes and attacked residents. The charred remains of 16 people were delivered to the town’s mortuary yesterday. Many also had deep wounds from machetes. Doctors said a further nine bodies had been recovered on Friday.

More than 700 people have now been killed since President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected in a deeply flawed poll at the end of December.

Posted by Szamko
Just tries to tell the truth.

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