Rice says Kenya violence troubling, requires political solution

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealed Tuesday for Kenya's political leaders to broker an end to deadly ethnic violence that has gripped the formerly stable African nation since last month's disputed presidential election. "There needs to be a political resolution of this conflict. The election was not one that inspired confidence in the Kenyan people," Rice said. Since the December 27 election, the death toll across a country once among the most stable in Africa has soared to more than 800. Much of the violence has pitted other tribes against President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu, long resented for their dominance of Kenyan politics and business. Rice called the violence "deeply concerning." "We are currently asking everyone to maintain calm," she said.