Nairobi — Dozens are feared dead after rowdy protesters attacked a church and set it ablaze in Eldoret, as violence continues unabated following the disputed presidential election.
Police have confirmed the number of the dead to be between 35 and 40 women and children.
The congregation, mostly of women and children, had sought refuge at the Kenya Assemblies of God church, before their aggressors set it on fire. The women and children were fleeing from their homes which had been burnt in earlier attacks.
Red Cross officials say they are overwhelmed by the number of casualties from the violence in Eldoret.
Meanwhile, over tens of thousands of armed people are heading towards Burnt Forest, a few Kilometres from Eldoret. Burnt Forest has a history of violent tribal clashes.
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We received news just now from a colleague in Nairobi who wrote:
I've just come out of a meeting of human rights organizations and civil society groups at the KNCHR. The meeting broke up abruptly with the latest news of a church in Eldoret just burned down with 200 people in it. We heard through phonecalls from people in the region that over 5,000 armed Kalenjin, Pokot and Marakwet are marching on a local area of forest, razed to the ground by yesterday, where over 1,000 Kikuyu had taken shelter, after being displaced from their homes. We heard in the meeting that the death toll is being severely under-reported by the media. The assessment of those receiving eyewitness reports from the field is no less than 5,000 dead in Nairobi's slums. The city mortuary and other morgues are off limits, guarded by GSU, to prevent media seeing the numbers of bodies. We are in civil war. That's not an extreme statement - it was repeated by those in the meeting, who have had years of experience in the field, as they shook their heads in disbelief. Neighbors are butchering each other. A 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Kisumu and Migori, without legal authority, by General Ali. People have been confined to their homes for over 3 days, without food or water, and face gunfire from police if they emerge to search for food. Rift Valley is ablaze - and the violence is clearly ethnically targetted. Eldoret is unreachable, except by air. There are no fuel supplies left in Kisumu. Uganda's roads are at a standstill, as all fuel deliveries from Kenya have been grounded in the last few days. As Kenya shuts down, we are shutting down the whole region. [end]
We have posted an online petition at http://www.PetitionOnline.com/kenya08/petition.html
calling for an urgent resolution of the Kenya electoral crisis. Please sign.
Firoze - I hope sincerely that 5000 is an overestimate. As a UK resident I can only watch the events unfold on the news here and we cannot know how accurate it is. Moreover it is hard to see what we (as the international community) can do. I have signed the petition and forwarded the link to many other people. May peace come again.
As a European I feel just as helpless and worried reading and seeing what is happening in Kenya. Is there anybody who knows about the situation in the Nakuru region at the moment? Yes, indeed, may peace come.
If you get word of Nakuru please let me know. I'm trying to get word of the Charles Kamindo family.
Have you heard anything from Charles Kamindo or his family. We are praying for him.
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