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NAIROBI, Kenya-The violence plaguing western Kenya's Rift Valley spread to the country's Western Province Monday, according to an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross.Reports of "a series of instances" of violence were coming from Kisumu and Kakanega in Western Province, an area where violence earlier this month had abated, ICRC spokesman Bernard Barrett said Monday.But he added that the reports were preliminary and "still too confusing" to quantify.Kenya's Western Province is the area near its border with Uganda.The result has been a new wave of displaced people-"several thousand forced from homes or fleeing in fear," Barrett said.The ICRC has set up new camps to accommodate them because they represent a wider variety of tribal groups, some of whom "might not feel comfortable living with those in the established camps."But "the situation is better than it was in previous days," in the Rift Valley cities of Naivasha and Nakuru which were the focus of violence over the weekend.Gangs no longer maraud through the streets, Barrett said. "There's still a lot of tension, but the gangs are being kept separated."Rumors-spread by cell phone text messages-predicting imminent attacks by one group or another were heightening tensions, he said.In Nakuru, 95 miles northwest of the capital, 60 people have been killed and hundreds more have been wounded by gang members wielding machetes and clubs since violence broke out Thursday.In nearby Naivasha, boulders and burning tires blocked the streets, forcing drivers to stop as gang members searched for tribal enemies.On Sunday, members of one tribe needed protection just to walk down the street. Security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the crowds.As many as 30 people were herded Sunday into a building and burned to death, the Red Cross said; several others were hacked to death by people wielding machetes.The death toll in Naivasha was not clear. The Kenyan Red Cross went Monday to the city morgue not to count bodies but to ensure that proper methods were in place so that the bodies could be identified and family members could find out what happened, ICRC's Barrett said."One of the problems is that many people can't get to the morgues," he said. "They are afraid to leave the camps. If the bodies are buried, there has to be some way of identifying them later on."The government says 600 to 650 people have been killed in all, but the opposition says at least 1,000 have died.More than 200,000 people have been displaced in the turmoil, according to the Kenyan Red Cross.The unrest has its roots in tribal grievances that date back to 1963, when the country gained independence from Britain and land was allocated to various tribal factions in a process some deemed unfair.The current crisis erupted after opposition members declared that Kenya's December 27 election had been rigged, resulting in massive anti-government demonstrations. The announcement that President Mwai Kibaki had won the vote over Raila Odinga of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement sparked nationwide protests and violence, to which police responded with violence, throwing the country into turmoil.Talks between the ODM and the Kibaki government are under way, led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, but they appeared to be having little if any positive effect.Annan was in Kenya Monday, meeting with human rights groups.In a statement issued Sunday, Odinga condemned the violence, and blamed the Kibaki government. "What is now emerging is that criminal gangs, in a killing spree, working under police protection, are part of a well-orchestrated plan of terror, [and] spread and escalate the levels of violence," he said.But Human Rights Watch last week accused opposition party officials and local elders of organizing the ethnic-based violence, which has targeted mostly Kikuyu and Kisii people. "Opposition leaders are right to challenge Kenya's rigged presidential poll, but they can't use it as an excuse for targeting ethnic groups," said Georgette Gagnon, the group's acting Africa director.Human Rights Watch called on ODM leaders "to take immediate steps to stop its supporters from committing further attacks."And the humanitarian group called on Kenyan police to deploy extra officers to the region to protect those who have been displaced.As in the days of Noah....
