Kenyans burned to death in church

Scores of people are reported to have been burnt to death in a church in western Kenya.

There are conflicting reports about the numbers who died with one estimate putting the death toll at 30.

However, Brother Felim Ryan, a native of Thurles in Co Tipperary but based in Eldoret for the past 13 years, said it was feared that up to 400 people had been burnt alive.

The victims had been sheltering in the Kenya Assemblies of God Pentecostal Church, about 8km from Eldoret in fertile Rift Valley Province, when it was set alight.

They had been trying to escape the post-election violence sweeping the east African country.

Over 200 people have died in ethnic clashes across Kenya since the disputed re-election on Sunday of President Mwai Kibaki.

The EU's election observation team has said that the election fell short of international standards and has called for an independent audit into the results.

'They were marred by a lack of transparency in the processing and tallying of presidential results, which raises concerns about the accuracy of the final results,' the observation team said.

Incumbent President Kibaki was declared the winner on Sunday after a controversial three-day counting process, which his defeated challenger Raila Odinga alleged was rigged by the government.

'We believe it is vital that an impartial investigation into the accuracy of the presidential results is conducted and the results from all polling stations are published to enable an independent audit to be carried out,' chief EU observer Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said.