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Kenyan riot town counts its dead Police face riots in west Kenya
(30 minutes later)
Red Cross workers are bracing for the grim task of counting the dead in the Rift Valley town of Naivasha, scene of Kenya's latest post-election violence. Police are struggling to restore order in western Kenya, amid a recent wave of violence linked to disputed elections.
They said they could not establish a proper toll until they had searched the charred remains of burnt houses after a day on which at least 19 people died. In the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, there were riots as hundreds protested against attacks on fellow Luo tribe members over the weekend.
Troops have restored some order but fear still grips the town, reports say. Meanwhile in Naivasha - the scene of some of the weekend's worst violence - police battled to keep opponents apart.
The Rift Valley saw dozens killed this weekend and the national death toll since the December polls is nearly 800. The Rift Valley has dozens killed in recent days and the national death toll since the December polls is nearly 800.
Members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe have been fighting with Luos and Kalenjins who backed his rival Raila Odinga in the election. Members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe have been fighting with Luos and Kalenjins who backed his rival Raila Odinga in the election a month ago.
Mr Odinga accuses Mr Kibaki of stealing the vote and has refused to recognise the result.Mr Odinga accuses Mr Kibaki of stealing the vote and has refused to recognise the result.
Visiting former UN chief Kofi Annan has told them both they must act quickly to restore calm or face the threat of Kenya descending even further into murder and chaos.Visiting former UN chief Kofi Annan has told them both they must act quickly to restore calm or face the threat of Kenya descending even further into murder and chaos.
The BBC's Adam Mynott says the Rift Valley saw horrific acts of violence this weekend and the threat of reprisals has put thousands in grave danger. Reprisals
Screams in the night Much of the weekend's violence centred on Nakuru, Kenya's fourth largest city, and - some 60km (37 miles) south along a main road - the town of Naivasha.
A Reuters reporter in Naivasha heard screams late into Sunday night as mobs stopped cars on the main highway and demanded passengers' identity cards. In many cases the perpetrators were members of President Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, out to avenge attacks on Kikuyus in the immediate aftermath of the election.
The town is about 60km (35 miles) south of Nakuru, also scene of recent tribal violence. The violence was horrific, reports the BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi. Mobs of youths armed with machetes, clubs and bows and arrows hacked people to death and set fire to buildings with families trapped inside.
One man was beaten before being kicked under the wheels of a minibus as it sped to safety, the agency reports. On Monday, hundreds of Luo demonstrators took to the streets in Kisumu to protest against the weekend's violence.
Reporters saw bodies lying among the charred remains of one house. "We want to show our anger at the killing of our people," Fred Onyango, a demonstrator, told news agency AFP.
As the Kenya Red Cross waited to move into Naivasha, secretary-general Abbas Gullet said his workers faced menacing roadblocks in the area. But the protests turned violent. Shops and vehicles have been set ablaze and barricades set up in the streets, say accounts from the scene.
"My staff were this morning quite frightened to say they were going out because they said there were road blocks, road blocks everywhere in Naivasha town and all the highway," he said on Sunday. Protesters fought running battles with police, who responded by firing into the air.
Mr Annan has called for the army to be deployed in conflict areas. In Naivasha, meanwhile, reports suggest police are struggling to keep rival gangs apart and there have been some clashes.
The head of the African Union Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, said the whole continent should act fast to end the violence. Red Cross workers had been bracing themselves for the grim task of counting the dead in Naivasha.
"We in Africa cannot turn a blind eye when a tragedy is unfolding around us," he told African foreign ministers gathered in Ethiopia ahead of an AU summit this week. They said they could not establish a proper toll until they had searched the charred remains of burnt houses after a day on which at least 19 people died.
Deadlock
Are you in Naivasha? Have you been affected by any of the issues in this story? Send us your comments using the form below. While Mr Kibaki says he is open to talks, he has refused to countenance Mr Odinga's demand for fresh elections.
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Mr Annan - who on Saturday travelled to the Rift Valley to meet victims of the violence - has been working to try to overcome the political deadlock.
He met Mr Odinga on Sunday, and afterwards opposition spokesman Salim Lone said each side had been asked to name three negotiators to participate in talks, which he said would hopefully start "within a week", according to Associated Press.
Both sides have been sent documents specifying the terms of reference, rules of engagement, and an agenda for talks.