On Friday Red Cross announced that thousands of Kenyans fled on Thursday from a western town because of ethnic fighting just before the funeral of a slain opposition lawmaker was scheduled to take place this weekend.

President Mwai Kibaki seemed to be encouraged by the progress which was made in talks to end the violence triggered by the presidential election on December 27.

He is accused by opposition leaders from stealing the vote from rival candidate Raila Odinga.  

Ever since the election over 1,000 people have been killed and more than 300,000 people were displaced.

Last week an opposition legislator was killed in what police is saying was a crime of passion. On the other hand the opposition describes it as political assassination.

Ever since then there were attacks in the policeman's ethnic group, the Kisii. His funeral is scheduled to take place on Saturday.

Families from western town of Kericho gathered in the main street to fill the vans from the government that were ready to place them into areas where there was a more predominant presence of their ethnic group.

According to Red Cross official Susan Onyango, 5,000 people left the camp built for them and left about 1,000 behind.

Opposition leaders are asking Kibaki to step down, but Odinga showed his flexibility on Thursday regarding this matter after a meeting with EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel.

He said:  "We are saying that we are willing to give and take. Initially our stand was that we won the elections, and Mr. Kibaki lost the elections, he should resign, and we should be sworn in, but we have said that we are not static on that point," the Associated Press informs.

The U.S. threatened on Thursday to bar Kenyan politicians and businessmen who supposedly played a role in the violence after December 27.

The decision was welcomed by Kibaki as well as the opposition. Even so Kenyan human rights groups, foreign observers and diplomats say that is visible that both sides helped at organizing the attacks.