The official death toll from Kenya's post-election violence rose to nearly 500 on Monday as the opposition called off protests to give mediation a chance.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga said after meeting US envoy Jendayi Frazer for a second time that he had been assured the “mediation process is about to start.”

He cancelled protests until further notice.  “I will continue to pursue all legal and peaceful means to ensure that the true election results are respected,” Odinga told reporters, urging his supporters to reject violence.
Dramatically updating previous figures, the government gave a toll of 486 dead and 255,000 displaced from more than a week of turmoil since the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki.

However, there was an unconfirmed report from Uganda that 30 Kenyans might have drowned after being pursued by attackers into a river on the border. Kenyan police could not confirm the report. Odinga, who turns 63 on Monday, faces a dilemma of responding to international pressure to avoid provoking any more violence, while also maintaining momentum to oust Kibaki.

African Union Chairman John Kufuor, Ghana's president, was due to visit this week to mediate between Odinga and Kibaki, whose mutual distrust is a key obstacle to any solution. Eleven UN trucks were heading to western Kenya, the heart of the refugee crisis, under police escort on Monday, with enough food to feed 38,000 people for two weeks.

Much of the trouble has pitched opposition supporters against members of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.
But many Kenyans are offended at superficial depictions of tribal warfare that do not explore the many other roots of the violence: land disputes dating back to colonial times, wealth disparities, and incitement by politicians.