Kenyan rivals strike deal to try and stop violence

By Duncan Miriri

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's government and opposition struck an agreement on Friday to take immediate steps to try and end tribal bloodshed in a five-week-old political standoff in which about 850 people have been killed.

The agreement was brokered by former U.N. head Kofi Annan, leading an African mediation mission to resolve the standoff that began when a December 27 poll returned President Mwai Kibaki to power. Opposition leader Raila Odinga says the vote was rigged.

Annan said the two sides would discuss how to stop the violence, delivery of humanitarian aid and how to end the political impasse before tackling a longer term solution in Kenya, East Africa's biggest economy and a popular tourist spot.

"The first (agenda item) is to take immediate action to stop the violence," Annan told a news conference, adding that both sides would get round the negotiating table from Monday.

"But more importantly, the parties agreed that the first three items (on the agenda) could be handled and resolved within 7 to 15 days," said Annan.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew into Nairobi on Friday from an African Union summit in Addis Ababa to add his heavyweight diplomatic clout to his predecessor's efforts.

"The killing must stop," said Ban, echoing the alarm expressed by world leaders at seeing Kenya, long viewed as a peacemaker on a volatile continent, plunge into turmoil. Kenya is a key ally of the West in its efforts to counter al Qaeda.

"You have lost already too much in terms of national image, economic interest," said Ban.

Senior opposition official Musalia Mudavadi said the two sides agreed to urge supporters to end the violence.

"We are calling on the public to disband any illegal militia," he said.

Justice Minister Martha Karua agreed and said steps would be taken to protect life and property.

Violence was reported in flashpoints in western Kenya on Friday.

"I saw around 20 torched houses ... and two policemen with arrow wounds. At least 10 people have died from both sides," said a local journalist, who declined to be named.

More than 300,000 Kenyans are living as refugees because the violence has forced them to flee their homes.

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