NAIROBI, Feb 28: Kenya’s rival leaders signed on Thursday a power-sharing deal brokered by former UN chief Kofi Annan to end a bloody two-month political crisis that has split the nation along ethnic lines.

President Mwai Kibaki and opposition chief Raila Odinga signed the accord on forming a coalition government outside the president’s office.

The deal creates the post of prime minister and two deputy prime ministers in a bid to break the political deadlock created by contested presidential elections that triggered unrest across the country, killing more than 1,500 people and displacing 600,000 more.

Chief mediator Annan and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who heads the African Union, were present at the ceremony.

“We have come to an understanding on the coalition agreement,” Annan told reporters.

“I am pleased to be able to tell you and the citizens of Kenya that the two leaders this afternoon completed work on ... how to overcome the political crisis. I commend all those whose efforts have made this possible.” Annan urged parliament to convene soon to enact the necessary laws to flesh out the deal.

Kenyans took to the streets mainly in the coastal city of Mombasa and the lakeside city of Kisumu to celebrate the deal reached two months after the controversial polls.

“We are very happy because finally they have agreed. We now have our share,” said Mike Omondi, 35, a resident of Kisumu's Nyalenda slums.

Government and opposition negotiators had previously failed to agree on a power-sharing formula to resolve the crisis that erupted after Odinga accused Kibaki of rigging the December presidential election.

At Annan’s request, Odinga cancelled opposition rallies called for Thursday and went back into talks, but as negotiations resumed, police reported another deadly attack overnight in the western Molo district of the Rift Valley.

Three people were killed, five others wounded and more than 30 huts torched, Rift Valley police commander Joseph Ashimala said.

“They were attacked and shot with arrows when over 100 youths raided villages and torched houses,” Ashimala said.

The region has been the scene of sporadic tribal fighting since 1992, partly because the Kikuyu, Kibaki’s tribe, who have tended to dominate the country’s political life, settled the fertile area.

Police said most of the houses torched belong to people who had recently returned after being evicted from their homes in the recent violence.

A local Kikuyu, Irari Mugo, said the attack was carried out in the early morning by members of the Kalenjin tribe.

“The Kalenjin came and started burning houses. Police were slow in responding. When they arrived the Kalenjins had already burned them,” Mugo said.

Although the Kikuyu are the largest of the east African country’s many tribes, they are a minority in western Kenya, where people overwhelmingly backed Odinga, a Luo, who also has strong support from the Kalenjin.

Annan had suspended talks between government and opposition representatives on Tuesday, citing lack of progress on the details of the prime minister’s post.

Kibaki has said the post of prime minister and two deputies will be created under the current constitution pending a comprehensive constitutional review in 12 months.—AFP