Kenya Talks Make Progress; Caution Urged

Violence down as both sides work toward reconciliation

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 11, 2008 2:00 PM CST

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Kenya Talks Make Progress; Caution Urged — Children belonging to the Kikuyu tribe participate in an activity in a tent at a camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Kirathimo, Kenya, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008. More than 1,000 people have been killed and 300,000 displaced in rioting, tribal violence and police raids since the Dec. 27 elections... (Associated Press)

Talks between the Kenyan president and the leader of the opposition are going well, and the parties have agreed in principle to a power-sharing agreement, Reuters reports. "We are making progress. Indications are that we can see some light at the end of the tunnel. We are very optimistic," an MP said of negotiations between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

Kofi Annan, who is mediating, cautioned the media against spreading “rumors.” Kibaki urged Kenyans who fled their homes to return. His party and Odinga’s are said to have agreed to stop the violence that has plagued the country and to help the hundreds of thousands displaced by it. Annan has given them a deadline for resolving the most contentious issue: how to resolve the disputed election. (More Kenya stories.)

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