U.N.'s Ban throws weight behind Kenya peace drive

By Duncan Miriri

NAIROBI (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in Kenya to give clout to diplomatic efforts to end a month of post-poll turmoil, urged Kenyans on Friday to immediately stop violence that has killed at least 850 people.

Ban met negotiating teams for Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga trying to reach a deal to end the crisis in what had until the election been one of the continent's more stable nations and strongest economies.

"What is important at this time is to maintain peace and security," he told reporters. "The killing must stop."

But even as he spoke, violence continued in flashpoints all over western Kenya, where rival tribes are locked into a cycle of ethnically-motivated killings and lootings.

"I saw around 20 torched houses including shops and two policemen with arrow wounds, one in the leg, one in the shoulder," said a local journalist who had visited the area and did not want to be named.

"At least 10 people have died from both sides," he said.

Leaders at an African Union summit in Ethiopia want urgent action. Ban flew in from there for a one-day visit intended to bolster mediation led by his predecessor Kofi Annan.

Kenya descended into political and ethnic killing after Kibaki's disputed re-election in a Dec. 27 poll.