David Miliband and Condoleezza Rice made a joint appeal for a "cessation of violence" in Kenya today as the head of the African Union flew into the country for crisis talks and the death toll from post-election violence climbed past 300.

The British Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State called on President Kibaki and the opposition leader Raila Odinga - both of whom claimed victory in last week's presidential vote - to "engage in a spirit of compromise that puts the democratic interests of Kenya first" and congratulated the country on its "commitment to democracy".

They encouraged the African Union to "stay engaged at this important moment for democracy in Africa" and, citing "independent reports of serious irregularities in the counting process", begin an "intensive political and legal process" to resolve the crisis.

Separately, Gordon Brown announced that he had spoken to both Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga and urged them to begin talks. He gave his full support to a joint AU-Commonwealth mission to oversee the process.

The tribalism that colours Kenyan life

The eruption of violence following Kenya's elections has brought to the fore the latent tribalism present in every day life

Multimedia

• Video comment: Richard Dowden, Africa expert

• Video: violence in Nairobi

Multimedia

• Pictures: Kenyan elections protests

BACKGROUND

• FCO issues Kenya travel warning

• 50 die in blazing church as tribal war looms

• ‘We’ve spent three days hiding in our homes’

• British tourists told to stay indoors

Related Links

• The tribalism that colours Kenyan life

• Kenyan Olympic runner hacked to death

• 50 die in blazing church as tribal war looms

Multimedia

• Video comment: Richard Dowden

• Video: violence in Nairobi

• Pictures: Kenyan elections protests

"What I want to see is them coming together, I want to see talks and I want to see reconciliation and unity. I want to see the possibility explored where they can come together in government," the Prime Minister said.

In one of the worst incidents since the election on December 27, at least 50 people were burnt to death by an angry mob yesterday in a church near the western town of Eldoret. Most of the dead were members of the Kikuyu, Kenya's largest ethnic group and Mr Kibaki's own tribe. Their support of Mr Kibaki has pitted them against the Luo tribe, who back Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement and believe the election was a fraud.

On the same day, a former Kenyan Olympic athlete, Lucas Sang, was hacked to death in Eldoret as he walked home.

Mr Kibaki called for a meeting of all political parties yesterday, but Mr Odinga insisted he would not meet with Mr Kibaki until he stepped down. Mr Kibaki's government responded by accusing Mr Odinga's supporters of "ethnic cleansing".

A spokesman for Mr Kibaki, Alfred Mutua, said: "Supporters of Raila Odinga are involved in ethnic cleansing. "We don't want this to tarnish Odinga, to be seen as conducting ethnic cleansing."

An African Union spokeswoman, Habiba Mejri-Cheikh, confirmed that the head of the Union, the Ghanaian President John Kufuor would arrive in Nairobi today to help mediate the violence.

The admission last night by Samuel Kivuitu, the head of Kenya’s Electoral Commission, that he was pressured by Mr Kibaki’s Party of National Unity not to hold an inquiry into the results appeared to support the claim of Mr Odinga's supporters that the elections was "stolen". European envoys and the state-run Human Rights Commission had called for an investigation.

Last night there was no sign that security forces were willing, or able, to bring the rampaging mobs under control. Gangs of machete-wielding men set up roadblocks along the main road out of Nairobi to the west, pulling Kikuyus from their cars. "We cannot move out of the house," said Elijah Ombiru, a father of four, in Eldoret. "People are being killed everywhere."

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