Talks aimed at resolving Kenya's post-election crisis are expected to begin in the capital Nairobi.
Scores of people have been killed in the last two days despite an agreement signed by President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Mr Odinga called on Sunday for foreign peacekeepers, saying he does not trust national security forces.
Weeks of political and ethnic violence have left hundreds dead and driven many thousands from their homes.
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Mr Kibaki claimed victory in the presidential vote on 27 December but the opposition says the vote was rigged.
On Friday, former UN chief Kofi Annan brokered a deal between Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga, setting up a framework for talks.
The discussions are due to last a month and aim to halt the bloodshed within two weeks.
Other issues that the two parties agreed to address are the humanitarian situation, the political crisis, and land and historical injustices.
But politicians have rapidly resumed their war of words.
A senior colleague of Mr Odinga, William Ruto, told the BBC that without foreign intervention there would be no peace.
"We are committed to ending this violence but it will not happen in a day or two or three or a week," he said.
'Police misused'
"You should understand the situation in this country is that we are literally at the brink."
Mr Odinga called for peacekeepers from the UN or the African Union "because the police have often been misused and we do not have faith in the army to be neutral."
But Mr Kibaki and his supporters continue to accuse the opposition of fuelling the unrest.
"This is a politically instigated situation," said information minister Samuel Pergisio.
"It is a process that requires these politicians to go back and speak to their people."
Meanwhile, the violence has continued.
On Sunday, pitched battles between youths armed with bows, arrows, machetes and rocks were reported in the west of the country.
In Nyanza province, police trailed fighters after they razed more than 100 houses and a primary school, Reuters news agency reported.
(BBC)
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