Odinga Rejects Unity Rule; Kenya Health Crisis Looms

Aid chiefs sound alarm in wake of chaos
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 6, 2008 8:32 AM CST
Odinga Rejects Unity Rule; Kenya Health Crisis Looms
World Food Program workers put up a sign on a truck in a convoy with food supplies for displaced people in western Kenya, near Mombasa, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.The UN World Food Program said it was struggling to get food to over 100,000 hungry people forced to flee their homes in the Rift Valley...   (Associated Press)

Opposition leader Raila Odinga today rejected President Mwai Kibaki's offer of a unity government and demanded an international mediator, AP reports. "We want a properly negotiated settlement, not a coalition government," Odinga said, warning that his party would stage more rallies, threatening a new burst of violence after this weekend’s relative peace. Aid officials, meanwhile, warned that the continuing chaos threatens a national health crisis.

"If peace isn't restored within the next few days, disease and severe dehydration are very real threats,” said a medical charity spokesman. The United Nations was attempting to deliver 20 truckloads of supplies today to 100,000 “in dire need” in Nairobi and Eldoret city, a bastion of support for Odinga.   (More Kenya stories.)

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