Kenyan rivals strike deal to try and stop violence

By Duncan Miriri

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's government and opposition struck an agreement on Friday to take immediate steps to try and end tribal bloodshed in a five-week-old political standoff in which about 850 people have been killed.

The agreement was brokered by former U.N. head Kofi Annan, leading an African mediation mission to resolve the standoff that began when a December 27 poll returned President Mwai Kibaki to power. Opposition leader Raila Odinga says the vote was rigged.

Annan said the two sides would discuss how to stop the violence, delivery of humanitarian aid and how to end the political impasse before tackling a longer term solution in Kenya, East Africa's biggest economy and a popular tourist spot.

"The first (agenda item) is to take immediate action to stop the violence," Annan told a news conference, adding that both sides would get round the negotiating table from Monday.

"But more importantly, the parties agreed that the first three items (on the agenda) could be handled and resolved within 7 to 15 days," said Annan.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew into Nairobi on Friday from an African Union summit in Addis Ababa to add his heavyweight diplomatic clout to his predecessor's efforts.

"The killing must stop," said Ban, echoing the alarm expressed by world leaders at seeing Kenya, long viewed as a peacemaker on a volatile continent, plunge into turmoil. Kenya is a key ally of the West in its efforts to counter al Qaeda.

"You have lost already too much in terms of national image, economic interest," said Ban.