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Mr Annan (left) said he hoped the immediate political issues could be resolved within four weeks and gave Kenya a year to resolve the conflict, sparked by the disputed reelection of President Mwai Kibaki (centre). -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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NAIROBI - KOFI Annan launched formal crisis talks between Kenya's president and opposition leader on Tuesday as 22 died in fresh clashes stoked by the slaying of an opposition lawmaker.
The former UN chief said he hoped the immediate political issues could be resolved within four weeks and gave Kenya a year to resolve damage inflicted by a month of chaos in which almost 1,000 people have died, sparked by the disputed reelection of President Mwai Kibaki one month ago.
The talks began as police reported 22 new deaths across the country, in brutal ethnic clashes and a police crackdown, particularly in strongholds of opposition leader Raila Odinga - who claims he was robbed of the presidency - in western Kenya and the capital's slums.
'Resolved within a year'
But Mr Annan said in Nairobi: 'We are confident that the issues can be resolved within a year and ... that immediate political issues, what we are describing as short term issues, can be resolved within four weeks, if not shorter.'
Initial political protests have since aroused latent ethnic, economic and land disputes, shattering the image and economy of the once-stable east African nation in some of the worst violence since independence in 1963.
More than a quarter of a million people were displaced in initial violence and thousands more continued to flee their homes on Tuesday.
'Pacify the countryside and the country'
Mr Annan said that the first priority was 'to try to pacify the countryside and the country' before tackling the long-term scars and costs.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the worsening violence was 'deeply concerning'.
An eerie calm return to the western Rift Valley town of Naivasha after military helicopters earlier fired above fighting ethnic groups, clearing the streets of all but armed Kikuku gangs and bonfires of furniture ripped out of Luo houses.
Members of Mr Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe suffered heavily in the first violence after the widely-contested December 27 election from members of Mr Odinga's Luo tribe and other ethnic groups, but have since carried out numerous revenge attacks.
Naivasha, and Nakuru further north - both tourist towns famed for their wildlife - saw scores killed in gruesome revenge attacks and police crackdowns in recent days.
'There is only one Kenya. We all have multiple identities but I hope you see yourselves as Kenyans first,' said Mr Annan.
Opposition lawmaker shot dead
The talks began with a minute's silence in memory of opposition lawmaker Melitus Mugabe Were from Nairobi's Embakasai constituency, who was shot dead outside his home on Tuesday morning, sparking more violence.
Both political leaders clearly called for calm and said they were committed to reconciliation.
'Unless we here resolve to act quickly to save our nation, we will have no nation to save,' said Mr Odinga.
'I urge all our leaders to go to their regions and urge wananchi (citizens) to pursue peace,' Mr Kibaki said.
Mr Odinga earlier accused 'our adversaries' of having a hand in the fatal shooting in Nairobi of a lawmaker from his Orange Democratic Movement.
Mr Kibaki condemned the killing 'as a heinous crime' and ordered immediate investigations.
Police fired tear gas and live rounds earlier as hundreds took to the streets in Mr Odinga's western stronghold of Kisumu to protest the killing.
Mr Were had won his seat in parliamentary elections that also took place on Dec 27.
New deaths
As tensions flared, police also reported 22 new deaths across the country.
'Three of them were killed in Western Province (Kakamega) and two in Nakuru slums," a police commander said, adding that three others were killed in Naivasha - 'one shot by police and two hacked to death'.
A looter in the western town of Kisumu was meanwhile stoned to death, he added.
In Cheptiret in western Kenya, police said they killed three men after they were attacked by around 50 armed with bows and arrows.
Police said at least four died in clashes in Nairobi's slums.
UN
In Geneva, the UN Children's Fund accused the Kenyan government of failing to protect its citizens.
'The state has failed in its duty to protect. It seems that in numerous places, there is no law and order, and massacres by machete are on the rise,' Unicef spokeswoman Veronique Taveau told journalists.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, on a visit to Rwanda, described the situation in Kenya as 'unacceptable' and said he would discuss it with leaders meeting in Addis Ababa for an African Union summit from Thursday. - AFP
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