Kenya crisis talks adjourned to Monday

By Daniel Wallis and Andrew Cawthorne

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's feuding political parties adjourned talks for the weekend on Thursday, dashing chief mediator Kofi Annan's hopes to have a final political settlement this week to the post-election crisis.

But a spokesman for Annan indicated some progress had been made, saying the former U.N. boss would announce details on Friday of an agreement signed by both sides.

Annan has led efforts to end turmoil triggered by President Mwai Kibaki's disputed Dec. 27 re-election that has killed at least 1,000 people and uprooted 300,000 more, shattering the east African nation's peaceful image.

"He will speak to the press at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday to outline what was agreed in 48 hours of discussions," said Annan's spokesman Nasser Ega-Musa of this week's negotiations at a luxury resort in a remote safari park.

"Mr Annan will make available the text of the agreement signed today between the parties. The talks will resume on Monday morning in Nairobi."

Opposition leader Raila Odinga accuses Kibaki's team of rigging the vote, while Kibaki says he won fairly.

Both sides have agreed in principle to some form of power-sharing and have been focusing on the details in private.

Officials for neither side would comment on Thursday's development. But a source from one party, who asked not to be identified, said the talks ended in acrimony and the negotiators were flying back to the city to consult their bosses.