Military helicopters fired tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse rampaging mobs yesterday, as Kenya spiralled deeper into tribal violence. As clashes raged after the murder of an opposition politician in Nairobi, youths armed with machetes, clubs and hockey sticks torched homes and businesses belonging to Kikuyus loyal to President Kibaki.

Three helicopters were deployed in the lakeside town of Naivasha to scare off Kikuyu gangs who were trying to prevent Luos - who support the opposition leader Raila Odinga - from fleeing the town. At least a dozen people have died during the latest clashes, bringing the death toll to more than 850 since last month's disputed elections set tribe against tribe.

The latest round of killings provided a bleak backdrop for peace talks in Nairobi launched by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General. He is trying to find common ground between a President who refuses to loosen his grip on power and an opposition leader who believes the elections were fixed. Mr Annan said that he hoped to find a solution to the immediate political crisis within four weeks, but admitted the country's ethnic rifts would take longer to resolve.

“To the leaders gathered here today I say that the people want you to take charge of the situation and halt the downward spiral that is threatening this beautiful and prosperous country,” he said. The two sides are grappling with an agenda for talks set out by Mr Annan. Once that is agreed, he is expected to leave Kenya, returning periodically to chart progress.

Expert View

This violence shows that the acute tribal differences have been vastly underestimated

Rob Crilly, Times correspondent in Nairobi

• More

• Post a comment

Related Links

• Analysis: cause of Kenya conflict

• Kenya tourists seek refuge from mob killers

• Kenya leaders meet for first time since election

Multimedia

• Video: violence takes hold in Rift Valley

The UN's most senior humanitarian official gave warning that the violence was taking on a momentum of its own. John Holmes said: “What you fear is a downward spiral of violence, of attacks and counter-attacks, and counter-counter-attacks on a tribal and ethnic basis which then becomes very hard to stop.”

Yesterday Nairobi was paralysed by fresh violence. It was triggered by the murder of Mugabe Were, who won a parliamentary seat in last month's elections for Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement. He was shot by two gunmen as he returned home in the capital just after midnight. Police said they were keeping an open mind over his death. But there was no doubt about the motive in the family home where his wife and two young children were being comforted.

“They were not robbers. They took his mobile and his wallet but that was just for show,” said Mr Were's widow, Agnes. “It was political. They didn't want him to win the seat.”

Whatever the truth, Kenya is a country pregnant with suspicion. Youths burned barricades and taunted police outside the Were home. Officers responded by firing teargas into the family compound sending mourners fleeing.

In Mathare slum, armed Luo men at a roadblock dragged a Kikuyu man from his car and attacked him with machetes, according to Fospeter Ouma, a volunteer aid worker. “They slashed him so much. I think he must have died,” he said.

Hundreds of youths clashed in Kibera, the city's largest slum. Luos and Luyhas, who support the opposition, vowed revenge and promised to clear Kikuyus from their homes as they launched an early morning raid, burning shacks and looting shops.

Some swung machetes or clubs while others carried bows and quivers of arrows slung across their shoulders. Golf clubs, hockey sticks and anything else that could be wielded were also used. Jacob Otieno, a member of the Luo tribe, said: “They can't keep killing us like chickens which are fried for dinner at a hotel. We have to fight. Kofi Annan should just forget about mediation because we have to fight.”

They were confronted by Kikuyus who blocked the railway line through Kibera to protect their district, known as Laina Saba. Police eventually broke the deadlock firing live rounds and tear gas. The local chief of police later said that four people had been hacked to death and one woman was raped.

Barack Obama, the US presidential hopeful, whose father was Kenyan, took time out of his campaign to record an appeal for peace. “Now is the time for all parties to renounce violence. Now is the time for Kenyan leaders to rise above party affiliations and past ambitions for the sake of peace,” he said in the message broadcast on Capital FM.

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said that the violence was “deeply concerning” and again urged Kenya's leaders to find a political solution to the disputed election.

Times Recommends

• Rio Tinto four held as China prepares case
• Diplomats must keep heads down and trousers up
• When in Rome should one make like Berlusconi?