Addis Ababa — United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said post-election violence in Kenya is of grave concern to the organisation and has appealed to all Kenyans to stop the violence.

Speaking at a media briefing at the 10th African Union (AU) Summit in Ethiopia on Thursday, the Secretary-General said: "I call on all Kenyans to stop the killing and end the violence now before it is too late.

"The death and destruction has been appalling and the clashes are growing along ethnic lines.

"If political leaders fail to act responsibly and in the interests of the Kenyan people, then the situation could spiral out of control."

Mr Ban said he was scheduled to meet with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki after the media briefing to discuss the situation.

On Friday he will be jetting off to Nairobi to give his support to the Panel of Eminent African Leaders led by his UN predecessor Kofi Annan.

The panel is currently leading peace efforts in the country and comprises 13 prominent African personalities, including Tanzanian leader Benjamin Mkapa, and Graca Machel

"I would like to commend African leaders for responding so quickly to the turmoil which has forced thousands of Kenyan refugees outside of its borders.

"Kenya can remain stable and prosperous and a model to all Africa. We must all do our utmost to ensure this.

"To the people of Kenya...heed the call from Mr Annan and other worldly leaders for restraint tolerance and peaceful dialogue to resolve contentious issues," said Mr Ban.

He added that he would also be meeting with defeated Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga, civil society leaders and members of the UN staff in that country.

The conflict in Darfur became one of Mr Ban's priorities when he became Secretary-General of the UN over a year ago. At the briefing he said that throughout 2007 the UN worked hard to ensure that there was progress on both the political and peacekeeping tracks.

While the peace process has been revitalised, he said there was concern over the fact that only 9 000 of the promised 26 000 international troops have landed in the Darfur region of Sudan.

"It is imperative that we build on this foundation. The people of Darfur have waited long enough, frustrated and miserable in the Internationally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, entangled in a conflict that is dangerously spilling over into the region.

"[The year] 2008 must be the year for peace in Darfur," he said.

The Secretary General said he remains encouraged by talks held over the last two days at the AU Summit between the AU, the UN and the government of Sudan on resolving the issues relating to the deployment of the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Sudan (UNAMID).

At the briefing, Mr Ban said a strong peacekeeping force in Darfur, as well as cooperation between neighbouring Chad, Egypt, Libya and Eritrea are critical to creating a credible political process that can ensure peace in the country and the region.