U.N. Urges Kenyan Leaders To End Violence

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday deplored the widespread violence in Kenya and urged political leaders to resolve the crisis over disputed elections "through dialogue, negotiation and compromise."

The presidential statement was the first response by the U.N.'s most powerful body to the fighting that erupted after the December 27 presidential election, which has killed more than 800 people in a country once considered among the most stable in Africa. The council statement expressed concern at the dire humanitarian situation in the country, where some 310,000 people have fled their homes, and gave strong backing to negotiations led by a former U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan, to end the violence.