Kenya: Scores Die in Pipeline Inferno

Nairobi----Over 100 people are feared dead after a leaking fuel pipeline burst into flames in a city’s slum in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

The explosion took place in Nairobi’s Lunga Lunga industrial area on Monday morning, where a petroleum pipeline that runs through the area’s densely populated Sinai slums exploded into flames.

Police officials have put the death toll at over 100 as the number is expected to rise, having some admitted in hospitals have third degree burns which doctors describe as difficult to survive. Police say that most victims were still sleeping when the fire broke out.

Officials at the Kenyatta National Hospital say that 112 people have been referred to the hospital, most of them with severe burns. The hospital has appealed for blood donations and other supplies to help manage the victims.

In a statement, the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) said its engineers shut down the pipeline upon detecting the leak, but storm water from the morning rain swept the spilt fuel into the nearby Ngong River that runs through the slum.

The victims had scrammed into the heavily polluted river to scoop the spilt fuel from the pipeline before the explosion which reports claim was caused by a cigarette butt that was thrown into the river that was filled with fuel.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga who was among the government officials who toured the scene described the state as “shocking” and “terrible”, which he termed as one of the worst disasters that have happened in the country involving the oil industry.

“Our appeal would be to the nation to remain calm, so that we can be able to go through this in a much more civil manner,” said Mr. Odinga.

One of the survivors at the scene narrated how she heard a loud blast before seeing everyone around on fire. Residents say that it’s not the first time there has been a fuel leak on the pipeline where occasionally the slum dwellers have scrambled to fetch the spill. Many victims are believed to have been near the pipeline before the blast.130 people perished in a similar tragedy in 2009 when a tanker transporting fuel overturned and caught fire near Molo in the Rift Valley.

Tripoli, Libya

Libyan Interim Leader Calls for Civil State

The head of Libya’s interim National Transitional Council (NTC) has urged Libyans to support a civil democratic state based on Islamic laws during his first ever speech since ousting of long-serving Muammar Gaddafi. While addressing a cheering crowd at the Martyr’s Square in central Tripoli, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil flanked by other revolutionary leaders NTC promised formation of a provisional administration within the next 10 days, calling supporters to avoid retribution and oppression attacks against loyalists of the deposed leader.

He said during his live televised speech that Islamic law will form basis for legislation, but rejected any extremist ideology.

"We are a Muslim nation, with a moderate Islam, and we will maintain that” he said, adding that

Abdul-Jalil who heads the NTC arrived in Tripoli on Saturday from the rebel eastern stronghold of Benghazi for the first time since the capital had fell to the rebels in August 21. He formerly served as the Justice Minister under Col Gaddafi before joining the rebels at the start of the uprising.

In its latest report Amnesty International has called on the NTC to step up actions to prevent human rights abuses in the country. The Battle for Libya-Killings, Disappearances and Torture report reveals bulk of violations carried out by the Gaddafi loyalists, linking the revolutionists to torture and revenge killings.

The report claims that the NTC has failed to hold accountable those responsible for serious rights abuses, calling it carry out investigations on the abuses. Elsewhere, fighting continued in parts of the besieged desert town of Bani Walid and Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte. At least 15 guards were killed on Monday when pro-Gaddafi forces launched a surprise attack at a key oil refinery in the coastal city of Ras Lanuf.

A defiant Gaddafi has vowed to fight on until victory and defeat of the coup in an aired message on a loyalist TV station. Niger’s Prime Minister Brigi Rafini has said that Gaddafi’s son Saadi and three of his generals were among the 32 people who crossed the lengthy desert border into the country for the past 10 days.

The state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Beijing officially recognises the NTC as legitimate authority of the Libyan people, making it the last member of the UN Security Council to recognise it. China alongside Russia have been the main countries criticising the NATO-led airstrike that sought to protect civilians.