DAVOS, Jan 26: Kenya is in danger of falling into an irreversible spiral of violence while politicians attempt to settle their differences, the top UN aid official said on Saturday.

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes called on politicians in the East African country to avoid hate campaigns that would spark more violence against civilians.

“While the politics are being sorted out everybody should avoid stirring up those frustrations and tensions in ways that could lead to more violence because there is a clear risk in a place like Kenya of a downward spiral of ethnic and economic tensions in an irreversible way,” he said.

About 700 people have died in violence since President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected in a disputed Dec 27 election which observers say was flawed and opposition leader Raila Odinga and his Orange Democratic Movement say was rigged.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is trying to mediate in the violence, called on Saturday for an investigation into “gross and systematic” abuses of human rights in Kenya.

Holmes said that about 250,000 people had been displaced by the violence, and double that number needed help such as basic food, clean water, and healthcare.

The violence is continuing, with more people killed on Friday, he said in an interview during the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.

Beyond the immediate tragedy in Kenya, the violence threatens the entire region as Kenya is a hub for aid efforts to Somalia, northern Uganda, southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said.

Aid supplies for these countries were blocked in Kenya’s port of Mombasa when the violence started. The situation is now getting back to normal, but there is still a backlog, he said.

Holmes expressed hope that a peace agreement in Congo struck on Wednesday would stick, allowing aid workers to tackle the massive humanitarian problem there.

Holmes said about 800,000 people had been displaced in Congo’s North Kivu province, where fighting has intensified over the past year between government forces and fighters loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda.—Reuters