Kenya ? Police cracked down fiercely on a second day of protests across Kenya on Thursday, firing bullets at opposition supporters and tear gas at a hospital. At least five people were killed.

The United States blamed President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga for the violent demonstrations and ethnic clashes that have killed more than 600 Kenyans since a disputed Dec. 27 presidential vote. Kibaki insists he won the election, but international and local observers say the vote count was rigged.

Frustrated by the failure of international mediation, which could not even get the two rivals to meet, Odinga called three days of protests that started Wednesday.