Church leaders are working alongside the Kofi Annan peace talks to play a leading mediation role at the centre of the current crisis in Kenya, according to Christian relief agency Tearfund.

The agency says church leaders are facilitating dialogue between factions within the church and political parties.

"Churches in Kenya are playing a crucial and influential role with the country's political leaders - working tirelessly in this crisis to find common ground that can lead to a peaceful outcome," says Peter Gitau, Tearfund's Regional Advisor in Nairobi.

"We are facilitating and supporting churches in this role - urging leaders and politicians on all sides to come together and resolve differences peacefully. We have visited affected areas together with the political leaders.

"We have been calling for peace, facilitating meetings for church leaders from the affected communities (Luos, Kikuyus, Kalenjins and the Luhyas)."

So far the church political mediation team has held two meetings with President Kibaki and two meetings with Raila Odinga, Kenya's opposition leader. Church leaders have also presented to the Kofi Annan mediation team a memorandum for the Peace Plan Proposal.

As well as supplying urgently required items to the camps set up for internally displaced people (IDP), Tearfund is involved in the church mediation process. Gitau in Nairobi - working together with the National Christian Churches of Kenya (NCCK), Tearfund partner the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK), and the Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC), called a crisis meeting just days after the election on 27 December.