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Annan says agreement reached on Kenyan crisis

By DPA

Nairobi : Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said Thursday that Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga had reached a “coalition” agreement settling their differences over the outcome of the country’s presidential elections.

In a brief statement to journalists, Annan said: “We have an agreement … We have come to an understanding on a coalition.”

He said the document would be signed later in the afternoon in a deal which covers the division of powers and ending the two-month-old domestic political crisis which has spilled over into bloodshed in the East African country.

Annan gave no details.

Wednesday, Annan had threatened to end his mediating role because talks had reached a stalemate.

Annan Tuesday suspended the talks to end the crisis over disputed polls after he said no progress was made to come to a political settlement. He said he would deal directly with the leaders to break the deadlock.

Mass demonstrations in January turned violent as Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement supporters came up against police who used tear gas and live ammunition to prevent them from reaching the rallies.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the violence that gripped Kenya after the December polls, which Kibaki charged was rigged, marking a disturbing change in the usually stable East African nation.