The United Nations' top emergency relief official said Sunday that Kenya had a "very serious humanitarian problem" resulting from weeks of violence sparked by disputed elections. UN emergency relief co-ordinator John Holmes expressed hope that a political deal can be reached soon to end the turmoil that has left more than 1,000 dead and displaced 300,000 people in over 300 camps.
"It's clear from what I saw and the people I talked to there's a very serious humanitarian problem," Holmes told a news conference in Nairobi. "It is our hope that a political solution will be found in the short term so that the violence can stop," he said at the end of a three-day fact-finding mission on Kenya's humanitarian situation.
Holmes met with aid workers and toured camps for the homeless near Nairobi and in western Kenya, which has been hardest hit by the violence unleashed after President Mwai Kibaki officially won the December 27 election.
The opposition claims the vote was rigged while international observers have cited flaws during vote-counting.
The two sides are expected to resume talks Monday in a Nairobi hotel to hammer out details of an agreement that could include a power-sharing government.
Holmes said Kenyans who lost their homes in the upheaval, some of whom were chased out of areas in tribal violence, should not expect to return in the near future. "Clearly what we all hope is that people will be able to go home as soon as they can," he said.