International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors are planning to call dozens of witnesses in their cases against four well-known Kenyans accused of organizing deadly post-election violence in 2008.

The four Kenyans include Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, who is running for president in Kenya's March 4 elections, and Mr. Kenyatta's running mate William Ruto.

In documents submitted to the ICC on Wednesday, prosecutors said they would question 34 people in their case against Mr. Kenyatta and Cabinet secretary Francis Muthaura.

They said they plan to question 46 people in the case against Ruto and journalist Joshua Arap Sang.

The four men face charges that include murder, forcible deportation, persecution and other acts that constitute crimes against humanity.

Prosecutors said they believe they will need a total of almost 1,400 hours of court time for the cases. The trials are set to begin in April — a month after the election.

Kenya erupted in riots and ethnic violence after the disputed presidential run-off in December 2007, in which President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner. More than 1,100 people were killed, and hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes.

Kenyan lawmakers have voted to give themselves send-off bonuses of nearly $110,000 each — a payment that would take an average Kenyan worker more than 60 years to earn.

The 222-member parliament approved the payoff in a late night session on Wednesday but the vote did not become public until Thursday.

In addition to the bonus, lawmakers voted to give themselves perks that include armed guards, diplomatic passports and access to VIP lounges at Kenyan airports.

They also voted in favor of a hefty payout to retiring President Mwai Kibaki. Mr. Kibaki vetoed a similar bonus package for lawmakers in October, saying it was unconstitutional and untenable given the country's economic circumstances.

There was no immediate word on whether President Kibaki would support the new package, approved on one of the final votes by lawmakers before parliament was to dissolve Thursday.

Kenya holds national elections on March 4.

Kenyan lawmakers are among the best-paid in Africa, earning more than $120,000 a year.

The October vote angered Kenyan citizens and sparked protests against parliament.

At least 11 people have been killed in a fresh attack in Kenya's Tana River region, where months of tribal unrest has resulted in intermittent fighting.

Authorities say Thursday's attack on the Pokomo community in Kibisu was a retaliatory act that also injured several people.

It comes a day after Pokomo raiders attacked an Orma community village with guns and machetes. Nine people were killed, including at least six Orma.

Clashes between the groups have killed more than 140 people since August.

The Pokomo are farmers, while the Orma raise cattle. For years they have been at odds over land and water rights.

The recent violence has raised fears that local politicians have deepened the rift, in hopes of benefiting in Kenya's March 4 elections.

Kenya was gripped by weeks of riots and ethnic fighting after the disputed 2007 presidential poll. The violence in early 2008 killed more than 1,100 people.

Police in Kenya say at least eight people have been killed in the latest tribal unrest to hit the Tana River region.

Raiders from the Pokomo community attacked an Orma community village with guns and machetes before dawn Wednesday.

Initial reports say six Orma and two Pokomo were killed.

One local youth says members of his group killed two of the attackers in self defense.

“It was a very big group of youths and some of them were sporting red bands on their heads and wrists,” he said. “It was a coordinated attack and when we realized that they had surrounded our village we armed ourselves and decided to defend the perimeter. They killed six of us in the process and we killed two of the attackers.”

A Kenya Red Cross volunteer says nine people were injured in the fighting, including a child.

Intermittent fighting between the groups has killed more than 130 people since August.

The two groups have been at odds for years over land and water rights. The Pokomo are farmers, while the Orma raise cattle.

But the violence has raised fears that local politicians have deepened the rift, in hopes of benefiting in Kenya's March 4 elections.

Kenya was gripped by weeks of riots and ethnic fighting after the disputed 2007 presidential poll. The violence in early 2008 killed more than 1,100 people.

Peace negotiations are underway between rebel delegates, government officials and opposition leaders from the Central African Republic.

Wednesday's talks in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, are aimed at ending a month-long rebellion which has seen fighters from the Seleka rebel coalition seize about one-third of the country's territory.

Congolese Foreign Minister Basile Ikouebe said at the opening of the talks that the presence of all three sides signaled a willingness of the country's political actors to reach a solution.

“I have asked that during this period everyone is reserved and restrained,” he said, “and it's in this framework that we will start our negotiation work and without doubt before the heads of state we will sign a cease fire agreement.”

The Seleka coalition is made up of fighters from three main rebel groups in the north that say the government did not uphold peace accords signed in 2007 and 2008.

C.A.R. President Francois Bozize has resisted the group's calls for him to step down but has said he is willing to form a coalition government.

In recent days, rebel fighters have moved to within 100 kilometers of the capital. A multi-nation African force has formed a so-called “red line” in the town of Damara and warned the rebels not to advance any further.

Police in Kenya say at least eight people have been killed in the latest tribal unrest to hit the Tana River region.

Raiders from the Pokomo community attacked an Orma community village with guns and machetes before dawn Wednesday. Initial reports say six Orma and two Pokomo were killed. Another nine people were injured.

Intermittent fighting between the groups has killed more than 130 people since August.

The two groups have been at odds for years over land and water rights. The Pokomo are farmers, while the Orma raise cattle.

But the violence has raised fears that local politicians have deepened the rift, in hopes of benefiting in Kenya's March 4 elections.

Kenya was gripped by weeks of riots and ethnic fighting after the disputed 2007 presidential poll. The violence in early 2008 killed more than 1,100 people.

United Nations peacekeepers are asking the Security Council to support the use of surveillance drones in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous appealed to the council in a closed-door session Tuesday, seeking the drones to help the more than 17,000 peacekeepers in the country.

Rebels briefly took control of the eastern city of Goma late last year after fighting with peacekeepers and the Congolese army.

Rwanda, which borders eastern Congo, raised concerns about the deployment of drones, saying the move would make the U.N. mission a “belligerent” force.

Security Council members including the United States, Britain and France support the plan. A spokesman for France's mission to the United Nations said on Twitter the U.N. force needs “modern assets, including drones, to be better informed and more reactive.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is preparing a report recommending ways to improve the U.N. mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, which is the world body's largest peacekeeping force.

The U.N. mission began operating in the DRC in 1999 monitoring a cease-fire deal that followed a rebellion in which rebels seized large areas of the country. It continues under a mandate to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, and to support the government's peace and stabilization efforts.

Uganda has returned more than $5 million in looted aid money from Ireland back to the Irish government.

Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said Tuesday he is confident the restitution will contribute to the Ugandan efforts to fight corruption. He says Irish officials will now consider restarting its frozen aid program for Uganda.

More than $5 million in aid from Ireland was embezzled last year by officials in the office of Ugandan Prime Minister Patrick Amama Mbabazi, who denies involvement.

The theft led to Britain, Denmark, and Norway to also suspend aid to Uganda.

Malian soldiers fired at Islamist fighters who tried to push toward the government-controlled south of the country Tuesday.

Military sources say soldiers fired “warning shots” overnight to halt the advance of fighters toward Mopti, a government stronghold about 650 kilometers northeast of the capital, Bamako.

The French news agency, AFP, says the fighters retreated after the shots.

The incident raised fears of new clashes in Mali, where Islamists and Tuareg separatists took control of the north after renegade soldiers overthrew the government in Bamako in March. The Islamists have seized full control of the region.

The government and some of the rebel groups are tentatively set to hold peace talks in neighboring Burkina Faso on Thursday.

African Union chief Boni Yayi, the president of Benin, is calling on NATO to play a part in an AU-led peacekeeping force in Mali. Mr. Yayi said after talks in Ottawa with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Tuesday that the situation in Mali is an international question. There are fears the Islamists could use northern Mali as a center for plotting terrorism.

Prime Minster Harper said Canada will only send humanitarian aid.

The United Nations Security Council has approved a plan for the Economic Community of West African States to deploy at least 3,000 troops to Mali to help retrain the army and recapture the north. No military operation is expected until later this year.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States is closely monitoring developments between the government and Islamists.

In late December, Islamist group Ansar Dine and the Tuareg separatist group MNLA agreed to a cease-fire with the government. Ansar Dine, however, suspended its cease-fire last week, saying the government was not sincere about peace negotiations.