Three hundred camps for displaced people have been set up in Kenya

Head of the UN emergency relief operation, John Holmes, said about 300,000 displaced people were in camps, with the same number living elsewhere.

Talks aimed at resolving the political crisis have resumed in Nairobi.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, acting as mediator, is confident the two sides will reach a deal this week.

Funding appeal

Mr Holmes has returned to Helsinki from a three-day fact-finding mission to Kenya, where he visited camps in the western Rift Valley which have seen some of the worst fighting following December's disputed presidential election result.

It is a tragic situation in a country which is seen traditionally as a haven of calm and prosperity in a very difficult part of the world

John Holmes

United Nations

President Mwai Kibaki won the poll, but supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed the vote was rigged. The ensuing political and inter-ethnic fighting is thought to have left about 1,000 dead.

Mr Holmes said there were 300 camps for displaced people - the hundreds of thousands not in camps were probably sheltering with family and friends, he said.

The UN has appealed for $42m (£21.6m) from the international donor community, but Mr Holmes said it had received about half of that amount so far.

"Many have nowhere to go and will be in these camps for some time before they are able to go home and many of them are not sure they will be able to go home," he said.

"We need to consolidate the camps. Three hundred is a very large amount to deal with."