Kenya death-toll 'exceeds 120'
Police open fire on protestors in Kenya
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Monday, 31, Dec 2007 04:38
Scores of protestors are feared dead after Kenyan police reportedly opened fire as demonstrations against recent presidential elections intensified.
More than 120 people are thought to have been killed overnight in bloody clashes between rioters and police.
According to the BBC, more than 40 bodies have been taken to a morgue in the western town of Kisumu with gunshot wounds.
Violence has flared across the African country since president Mwai Kibaki was elected for another five-year term in a deeply-contentious vote, while live radio and television broadcasts have been suspended.
Opposition candidate Raila Odinga has accused the elections of being a "fraud" and called on supporters to rally in Nairobi.
Police have reportedly warned people in the slums of the capital that they will be shot if they leave their homes, while a complete curfew has been implemented in Kisumu itself.
Media outlets claim that the bloodshed is not just restricted to Nairobi's shanty towns or Kisumu, with clashes breaking out in the resort town of Mombasa as well.
Mr Kibaki, who has been accused of ruling like a military dictator by opposition party the Orange Democratic Movement, was re-elected after winning 4.6 million votes.
His rival Mr Odinga received 4.4 million votes, but he disputes the 76-year-old president's victory.
"The government has lost legitimacy and cannot govern," Mr Odinga told a press conference following the December 27th elections.