The UN's top human rights official is heading to Kenya to assess allegations of grave human rights violations since the country's disputed presidential election, which sparked weeks of deadly violence.The three-week mission by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, will gather information from the government and the opposition, along with victims and witnesses. The findings will be made public.
"Truth and accountability are of critical importance in putting an end to the violence and preventing future human rights violations," she said.
The December 27 election, which foreign and local observers say was rigged, returned President Mwai Kibaki to power for a second five-year term after opposition leader Raila Odinga's lead evaporated overnight.
The ensuing violence has killed more than 1,000 people and has devastated the country's economy. Violence continues in western Kenya, scene of some of the worst post-election clashes.
Police said opened fire to disperse hundreds of residents who had barricaded the gates of the police station in Litein, 145 miles west of Nairobi. Two teachers were killed.
In a forest nearby, officers retrieved 18 bodies with gunshot and machete wounds. They had been killed in four days of clashes between rival gangs which police stopped by throwing grenades.
Aside from clashes with police, much of the fighting has been between rival ethnic groups, with much of the anger aimed at President Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, long resented for dominating politics and the economy.
Mr Odinga is demanding a new election, but President Kibaki has refused, arguing his re-election was fair.
Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement threatened to organise more mass rallies and stop a gathering of African foreign ministers in Nairobi because they were not consulted about the meeting.