Kenyan women prepare to
place flowers after a peaceful demonstration at Nairobi's Freedom
Corner, January 30, 2008. Kenyans pleaded on Wednesday for an end
to violence that has killed 850 people and created unprecedented
horror in the east African nation's darkest moment since 1963
independence.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on
Wednesday it was deeply concerned about the escalation of violence
that had rocked Kenya over the past week.
"The violence has entered a new phase," said Pascal Cuttat, the
ICRC's head of operations in Kenya, in a statement. "It broke out
in the wake of elections but is now being driven by ethnic
divisions, and there is a great risk of further deterioration."
According to Cuttat, "some people have been killed in horrible
circumstances, while others have been left with scars for life.
Many have lost all their belongings, and hundreds of thousands of
displaced people are living in temporary camps."
The ICRC called on all political, administrative, security and
local community leaders in Kenya to do their utmost to uphold
respect for life and human dignity, and to ensure that the Red
Cross and other humanitarian agencies have unimpeded access to all
those who require assistance.
"The violence is causing untold suffering in many communities
and spiraling into a succession of attacks, reprisals and
counter-reprisals," said Cuttat.
"The longer this is allowed to continue, the more difficult it
will be to return to stability and bring about some form of
reconciliation," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)
