UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council deplored on Wednesday the deteriorating situation in Kenya, voicing support for the mediation efforts made by former UN chief Kofi Annan.
"Council members deplored the continuing violence following the disputed elections in Kenya resulting in extensive loss of lives and serious humanitarian consequences," said a press statement read out by Giadalla Ettalhi of Libya, the council's president for this month.
They underlined their "full support for the efforts" of the African Union (AU) Panel of Eminent Personalities led by Annan in "seeking to resolve the crisis in Kenya," said Ettalhi.
The 15-member body called on Kenya's leaders to do "all that is in their power to bring the violence to an end and to restore calm, " he noted.
Ettalhi said that council members also welcomed the convening of the national dialogue under the mediation of Annan and urged both sides to engage "fully and constructively to secure a political solution."
In a closed meeting held earlier in the day, the council heard a briefing from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe on the situation in Kenya.
