Kenyan violence takes toll

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KACHIBORA, Kenya (AP) - Armed with bows and arrows and automatic weapons, hundreds of attackers poured through the camp where the terrified had sought refuge Sunday. They fired into the air, sparking a brief gunbattle with police before fleeing into the hills.

Hours later, after the bodies of a woman and her baby shot dead were carted away, aid agencies arrived to hand out emergency sacks of food to the hungry masses.

It sounds like a scene from war-ravaged Congo or Darfur. But this is Kenya, a country long known for welcoming refugees from troubled neighbors - not producing them.

A week of postelection violence has left at least 250,000 people homeless, shattering the East African country's image as a haven for those fleeing conflict.

''I can't believe it. We're refugees in our own land,'' said Dan Mugambi, a 35-year-old teacher who was among about 15,000 people sheltering in a primary school compound in the North Rift Valley village of Kachibora. ''This has never happened here before.''

Though violence around the country has eased over the last few days, Kenya is still reeling from unrest unleashed after supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga accused President Mwai Kibaki of rigging the Dec. 27 vote. The charges brought long-hidden ethnic tensions to the fore, sparking mayhem in the slums of the capital, the coast and the countryside.

Mugambi s

By Todd Pitman - Associated Press Writer

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