A prominent US-based rights group called on Kenyan authorities to lift a ban on political
rallies ahead of new protests this
week, as the death toll from post-election
violence has topped 700.
Police gave the fresh death toll from violence sparked by December 27 presidential polls after four people died in overnight clashes in the Rift Valley and 100 more bodies were discovered.
Human Rights Watch urged the government to allow
rallies led by opposition leader Raila Odinga, which are due to start Wednesday to protest alleged vote-rigging that led to President Mwai Kibaki winning a second five-year term.
Police have outlawed any public meetings since bloody clashes erupted after Kibaki''s victory was declared and many feared a showdown with protesters.
Besides the rising death toll, the violence has forced more than 250,000 people to flee their homes.
"The government should defuse tension by immediately lifting the ban on public assembly and allowing the planned demonstrations to go ahead," said Georgette Gagnon, HRW acting chief for Africa.
"The Kenyan government should urgently and publicly order the police to stop using excessive, lethal force against public rallies," she added, after police cracked down on previous rallies with tear gas, truncheons and warning shots.
International pressure is growing on Kibaki and Odinga to break their deadlock and drop all preconditions for face-to-face talks.
"The potential for further bloodshed remains high unless the political crisis is quickly resolved," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
Mediation efforts by African Union chairman John Kufuor failed but he left Nairobi last week stating that the two rivals had agreed to work with a panel, led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, "towards resolving their differences."
It remains unclear, however, just what Annan''s role would be, with Kibaki rejecting the idea of outside mediation.
"All hope must be given to this mediation," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. He called on Kenya''s leaders to "heed reason" and put an end to "more violence and more division".
The turmoil has shattered Kenya''s image as a beacon of stability in otherwise restive East Africa, and dealt a serious blow to the region''s largest economy.
"The country-wide death toll is more than 700 dead," a top police commander said on Sunday, after 89 more bodies were recovered in the Rift Valley and western provinces. Four new deaths were meanwhile reported in the Rift Valley overnight.
Eleven people -- including eight members of one family -- were recovered from pit latrines in the volatile Mount Elgon region, police said.