Kenyan Death Toll to Rise, Shoot To Kill Order Still Active

by Rob Walker | January 14, 2008 at 07:15 am | 442 views | 1 comment

Continuing the extremely tense situation in Kenya this week, officials with the Red Cross fear that the number of people killed will rise if things don't change soon. The death toll is nearing 600 right now, with almost 250,000 people displaced by violence and protests.

The government has instituted a 'shoot to kill' order for anyone caught protesting or demonstrating. This will fly in the face of the opposition's call for three days of massive protests around Kenya.

The death toll from more than two weeks of election-related violence in Kenya is nearing 600, aid agencies in the African country said Monday.

Officials with the local Red Cross told Reuters it had verified 575 deaths on Friday and expected that number to rise by the end of the day Monday. Earlier estimates had placed the death toll at 500.

As many as 250,000 people have also been internally displaced by the violence, which was sparked after President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected in a disputed Dec. 27 vote. Supporters of both Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga claim the vote was rigged, while the country's own electoral head has said he can't verify the results.

Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan is due to arrive in Kenya Tuesday to begin a fresh round of negotiations with Kibaki and Odinga.

Human rights campaigners have urged the Kenyan government to stop an alleged shoot-to-kill policy against political protesters as the country braces itself for more demonstrations.

At least 575 people have died in violence since last month's disputed election, according to the Kenyan Red Cross, and it says this figure is likely to rise as more bodies are discovered.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says dozens of those killed were shot by the police, allegedly deliberately.