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New Zealanders are preparing to flee Kenya as the death toll from four days of tribal violence over a disputed election passes 300.
David Smith - a father of two who moved to the East African nation with wife Sally in 1994 - told the Weekend Herald he was prepared to fly his family out if the situation escalated.
"There is great uncertainty here as to what will happen," said Mr Smith, 50, an economist working at the United Nation's environment programme on the joint UNDP-UNEP poverty and environment initiative.
He said the main problem for expatriates was getting essential food supplies as panic buying led to huge queues at shops.
But, Mr Smith said, the sense of fear that well-off foreigners had was nothing compared to the horrific situation facing locals caught up in the ethnic violence.
"It makes us nervous," he said. "But we are used to violence in Kenya - criminal violence is a fact of life here, with many expats, including us, suffering violent house break-ins. We have two night guards and there is a security back-up team. If it gets much worse then I will fly my family out."
Melanie Virtue, 43, who grew up in Auckland and works at the UN Environment Programme, said all UN offices in Kenya were closed until further notice - for the first time in 15 years.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said yesterday that the New Zealand Government was closely following events in Kenya.
"[It] calls on political leaders to urge their supporters to end the violence and engage in political dialogue to find a peaceful resolution to the current crisis."
Mr Peters said he was deeply shocked by the killings.
"These have been the most competitively contested elections in Kenya's history but international observers have questioned the result and called for an investigation.
"There have been significant irregularities in the counting process which undermines the integrity of the election and calls into question the official result," said Mr Peters.
"The Government supports efforts being made by the UK, the EU and US to find a solution to the crisis, and applauds the efforts of the Commonwealth and African Union in their efforts to initiate dialogue between the political parties in Kenya.
"We will continue to follow the situation as it unfolds and will work with the rest of the international community to see an end to the violence and an independent review of the election result."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has warned against all travel to Kenya's border areas with Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, warning of an extreme risk there. It is also discouraging non-essential travel to other parts of the country.
Forty-five New Zealanders are registered with the ministry as living or travelling in Kenya, but a spokesman said none had asked for assistance.
