Kenya death toll reaches 140

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The death toll in Kenya's election violence reached at least 140 Monday as the international community pressured President Mwai Kibaki to ease tensions.

A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed in the town of Kisumu on the shore of Lake Victoria, a stronghold of support for opposition candidate Raila Odinga where about 53 people had been killed, The Daily Telegraph reported. Troops were enforcing the measure by shooting on sight, the British newspaper reported.

The fighting, which had produced at least 140 deaths, was primarily between the Luo and the Kikuyu tribes, who are traditional enemies, the Telegraph said.

Riot police were in the streets of Nairobi as protesters denounced Kibaki's re-election.

Observers from the European Union have voiced doubts about the legitimacy of the vote count, which gave Kibaki another term in office by a razor-thin margin.

The New York Times said the outcome of the vote, along with Kibaki's heavy-handed response to protests, had resulted in a tepid response from other governments. The newspaper said Canada's high commissioner to Kenya met publicly with Odinga, while the U.S. Embassy in Kenya issued a statement expressing concern about ballot counting.