Riot police beat back Kenya protesters
Friday, 4 January 2008
NAIROBI, Jan 3 (Agencies): Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons Thursday to beat back crowds of protesters heeding an opposition call for a "million-man" rally that many fear could worsen the violence that already has killed 300 people and displaced 100,000. There was no sign yet, however, of the gigantic crowds many feared. Instead, small groups of a few hundred people each streamed toward the capital from various directions, as police tried to choke them off at strategic spots.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga called the march to protest President Mwai Kibaki's re-election in the Dec. 27 vote, insisting the poll was a sham. The political dispute has degenerated into ethnic violence nationwide, pitting Kibaki's influential Kikuyus against Odinga's Luos and other tribes.
On Wednesday, Odinga told The Associated Press the rally was meant to be peaceful. The government has banned the march, setting the stage for clashes between security forces and Odinga's supporters.
Truckloads of riot police in red berets armed with rifles and batons ringed the empty Uhuru Park in the city center early Thursday where protesters were expected to converge.
On one main road, police fired tear gas and water cannons to push back a crowd of several hundred people from the Kibera slum holding branches and white flags symbolizing peace.
"Without Raila there will be no peace," said one of the protesters, 22-year-old Edward Muli.
Elsewhere, smoke from burning tires rose from the streets as gunshots rang out. Police Chief Mark Mwara called the protesters "hooligans" and accused them of attacking gas stations and supermarkets.
Though both sides say they are ready to talk, the Odinga and Kibaki camps have mostly traded accusations that the other is fueling ethnic violence. Odinga says he will not meet with Kibaki unless the latter concedes he lost the presidency, something Kibaki is unlikely to do.
In an apparent attempt to help ease the crisis, South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu flew to Nairobi and was due to meet Odinga later Thursday, Odinga's spokesman Salim Lone said. However, government spokesman Alfred Mutua said Kibaki had no plans to meet Tutu.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga called the march to protest President Mwai Kibaki's re-election in the Dec. 27 vote, insisting the poll was a sham. The political dispute has degenerated into ethnic violence nationwide, pitting Kibaki's influential Kikuyus against Odinga's Luos and other tribes.
On Wednesday, Odinga told The Associated Press the rally was meant to be peaceful. The government has banned the march, setting the stage for clashes between security forces and Odinga's supporters.
Truckloads of riot police in red berets armed with rifles and batons ringed the empty Uhuru Park in the city center early Thursday where protesters were expected to converge.
On one main road, police fired tear gas and water cannons to push back a crowd of several hundred people from the Kibera slum holding branches and white flags symbolizing peace.
"Without Raila there will be no peace," said one of the protesters, 22-year-old Edward Muli.
Elsewhere, smoke from burning tires rose from the streets as gunshots rang out. Police Chief Mark Mwara called the protesters "hooligans" and accused them of attacking gas stations and supermarkets.
Though both sides say they are ready to talk, the Odinga and Kibaki camps have mostly traded accusations that the other is fueling ethnic violence. Odinga says he will not meet with Kibaki unless the latter concedes he lost the presidency, something Kibaki is unlikely to do.
In an apparent attempt to help ease the crisis, South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu flew to Nairobi and was due to meet Odinga later Thursday, Odinga's spokesman Salim Lone said. However, government spokesman Alfred Mutua said Kibaki had no plans to meet Tutu.