Odinga’s claim came as fresh violence erupted on the second day of demonstrations staged by his Orange Democratic movement (ODM).

“Today, seven people have been killed in Kasarani constituency,” he said. “Police are shooting innocent civilians at will... the government has turned this country into a killing field of innocents.” In ODM’s western stronghold of Kisumu, riot police hit at least one man as they fought youths who had set up burning roadblocks and gathered to protest. A resident of the town’s Kondele slum accused officers of shooting “indiscriminately”. “My father was shot as he stood in front of our house,” Alphonse Otieno said. “The police were shooting indiscriminately, targeting anyone on sight. My father was shot in the stomach.” Witnesses on the town’s Nyalenda road said police shot at people to disperse them. Blood could be seen on the pavement.

In Nairobi, police fired teargas at hundreds of Odinga supporters as they blocked a road near the Mathare slum, witnesses said.

The opposition leader has called for three days of protests in defiance of the government's ban on demonstrations. The move is an attempt to step up the pressure on Kibaki, who has been accused of stealing last month's election.

More than 600 people have died in violence since Kibaki was declared the winner of the December 30 poll.
Local and international observers said the presidential results were not credible because of large irregularities in the tallying of votes at the election headquarters.

Attempts to get Odinga and Kibaki to hold talks in an effort to find a way to end the violence have failed, with the two men blaming each other for the crisis.

Alfred Mutua, a government spokesman, today said the government was "very open to dialogue".

However, he warned that the Kenyan administration would "not be blackmailed" by threats by 13 nations, including the US and Britain, to cut aid.

The latest violence began yesterday when police used teargas and live rounds in an attempt to crush demonstrations.

As the clashes continued today, the death toll from yesterday's violence mounted, with reports of four bodies in the morgue in Kisumu, which suffered the worst violence.

In footage shown by local channel KTN, a policeman in Kisumu was yesterday seen firing his assault rifle at a young man, who fell down and was then kicked.

Salim Lone, an ODM spokesman, called it a "cold-blooded execution".

In Nairobi, at least three men were taken to hospital yesterday after being shot and wounded in the Kibera slum, one of two in the city in which police fired teargas and bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters.

The former UN secretary general Kofi Annan had been due in Kenya this week to try to mediate between Odinga and Kibaki, but fell ill. His office gave no date for his arrival.