Eight killed in Kenya election protests

At least eight people were killed on Friday in violence during opposition protests in Kenya over a disputed presidential election, witnesses and a senior official said.

Reuters journalists in Nairobi's Kibera slum, an opposition stronghold, said they saw four dead bodies after battles between protesters and police. Authorities in Narok, in southwest Kenya, said four died in ethnic clashes over the election.

With days of protests failing to budge Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki from power, a weakened opposition said Friday it would turn to economic boycotts and strikes to keep up pressure over the East African nation's disputed election.

The third and final day of planned protests saw clashes erupt a few dozen miles from the country's premier Masai Mara game reserve in Narok, where one man died after being struck by an arrow in the chest and 25 others were wounded, local police chief Patrick Wambani said.

The clashes pitted Masai tribesmen against ethnic Kikuyus and both groups were armed with arrows, clubs and knifes, Wambani said, adding that homes and shops were burned. Kikuyus, who mostly backed Kibaki in the poll, have been chased from the west of the country by other tribes.

Elsewhere, police opened fire on protesters in Nairobi's Kibera slum, and a man and a woman were shot and killed. Skirmishes also broke out between police and thousands of demonstrators in the coastal tourist town of Mombasa, leaving one dead. And a man died of gunshot wounds at a Nairobi hospital. The latest violence brought the toll from three days of protests to at least 16.

Police in Mombasa fought running battles with protesters as they tried to scatter thousands of young men who marched from a downtown mosque. The protesters carried leafy twigs in a symbol of peace even as they chanted "Kill! Kill!" Police used tear gas and fired live bullets over the protesters' heads, then chased them down alleyways.

Overall though, the rallies' strength had largely evaporated with turnout down exponentially from recent days.

As protests have fizzled, Kibaki's hold on power has become more entrenched. His mandate, however, is thin and local and international observers have questioned his victory at the polls.

The U.S. and other allies consider Kenya a vital partner against terrorism and as a regional economic and military powerhouse whose stability has stood in stark contrast to war-ravaged neighbors like Sudan and Somalia, where Islamic extremism is rife.

The United States blamed both leaders for the unrest.

"There are clashes because of the political deadlock," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, adding it was "beyond time" for Kibaki and Odinga to reach a compromise.

Opposition spokesman Salim Lone said Odinga would call for a "boycott of companies owned by hard-liners who are around Mr. Kibaki," including one of Kenya's biggest banks, a prominent bus company and a major dairy producer. Lone also said they would work with unions "to organize strikes in selected industries."

"We are completely ready to negotiate in good faith. We want peace in the country," Lone said. "Our people are suffering."

Kibaki's government has made similar statements, but efforts by the U.S. and the African Union have failed to even bring Odinga and Kibaki together for talks.

The government has enforced a ban on live television broadcasts related to the election in what it says is an effort to contain the violence.

"We know there are skirmishes in many parts of the country. We are fully cracking down and fully responding to every situation," police spokesperson Eric Kiraithe said.