Kenya Violence Erupts

New violence broke out this weekend in Kenya and escalated Monday (AP), with rival gangs attacking one another with machetes, clubs, and rocks. The violence in several towns has brought the country’s overall death toll to eight-hundred since disputed elections in late December. The East Africa Standard reports that at least ninety people were killed in weekend violence, including one incident in which sixteen people were burned to death in a house.

The violence undermines signs of hope last week, when former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan mediated talks (AP) between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. But hopes surrounding the meetings were squashed yesterday when Kibaki publicly denied rumors (Daily Nation) that he might offer Odinga the country’s prime ministership.

A new CFR.org Backgrounder takes an in-depth look at Kenya’s political situation and the root causes, including economic inequalities, for current tensions.