Jan 3, 2008, 18:53 GMT
Washington - The top US diplomat for African affairs was to depart Washington for Kenya on Thursday to push the country's leaders to resolve the political stalemate that has prompted days of unrest and more than 300 deaths, the State Department said.
Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer was flying to Nairobi to meet with President Mwai Kibaki, whose victory in disputed December 27 elections sparked the violence and accusations of genocide between the East African nation's two main ethnic groups.
Frazer will also meet with opposition candidate Raila Odinga, defeated by Kibaki in the balloting plagued by allegations of fraud and rigged voting.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Frazer will also meet with other civic figures.
Frazer's trip comes one day after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Kibaki and Odinga to urge them to resolve their political differences peacefully.
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