The Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday it will send additional staff and relief supplies to Kenya, hit by post-electoral violence.
About 15 staff are on their way to Kenya to assess the situation and determine what food, medicine and other essentials are needed to help those affected by the violence, ICRC spokeswoman Anna Schaaf was quoted as saying by the Swissinfo website.
The Geneva-based organization said it would seek to give the Kenyan Red Cross enough supplies to meet the basic needs of at least 100,000 people for several weeks.
"The ICRC's main priority is to work with the Kenya Red Cross to assist families that have been displaced by the events or dare not leave their villages," said Pierre Krahenbuhl, the organization's director of operations, in a statement.
According to U.N. estimates, some 250,000 people have been displaced in Kenya, mostly in western regions, fleeing fighting sparked by the official result of last week's presidential election.
The majority of displaced people are staying in makeshift camps while others have sought refuge in police stations or churches, fleeing violence that has claimed 350 lives.
The ICRC has already asked donors to contribute 15 million Swiss francs (about 13.5 million U.S. dollars) to enhance its Kenya operations.
Source: Xinhua
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