The United States is "very closely" watching the tense situation in Kenya, but it is premature to say that the post-election violence in the country is "ethnic cleansing," the State Department said Wednesday.
"Very clearly, there is a very serious situation, if not crisis, with respect to people being displaced in Kenya," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a news briefing.
"There may be examples of people being forced from certain areas by groups, being specifically identified to be moved out of certain areas. That a source of real concern for us, we're watching it very closely."
The spokesman said that experts from the State Department's Office of War Crimes Issues were compiling information about the post-election violence but had not yet made any findings.
"If they do document any instances of atrocities, we'll have to look at what next steps to take, but at this point we're not there yet," he said, adding that "ethnic cleansing," unlike "genocide," is not a legal term with a set definition.
The riots have killed more than 800 people and displaced over 250,000 others in Kenya since the Dec. 27 election.
Kenya's opposition parties accuse President Mwai Kibaki of stealing the presidential vote. Kibaki and main opposition leader Raila Odinga blame each other for the violence.
Source: Xinhua
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