LONDON, Jan 1 (Reuters) - European countries urged Kenya's political rivals to act responsibly to end ethnic riots that have killed almost 250 people, including villagers burned to death as they sought refuge in a church on Tuesday.

Britain said the African Union and Commonwealth heads had agreed to try to reconcile the rivals after Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election in a Dec. 27 poll triggered violence.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had spoken to Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga and urged them to seek a peaceful solution.

"I am gravely concerned by the situation in Kenya," Brown said in a statement. "I have urged both Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga to exercise restraint and responsible leadership."

Brown said he had spoken to Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who chairs the African Union, and to former Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, head of the Commonwealth observer mission to Kenya, to ask them to step in.

Kufuor had agreed to help initiate a process of dialogue and reconciliation, Brown said, adding: "This offers an opportunity to stop the violence and to help Kenyans unite."

Britain is Kenya's former colonial power.

Earlier Brown said Kibaki and Odinga should come together for talks. "I want to see the possibility explored where they can come together in government. But the first priority is that the violence is brought to an end. It is unacceptable that lives are being lost."

PEACEFUL SOLUTION

France and Germany also urged Kenya's political leaders to act responsibly.

"France is concerned by the violence over the last few days in Kenya. It calls on all the political leaders to contribute to restoring calm and avoiding any kind of action that could add to the tensions," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

"It calls on all the players, in particular the government security forces as well as the political representatives, to behave responsibly, with respect to the law and to get across their points of view in a peaceful way."

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "The German government calls upon the government and opposition in Kenya to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict based on the constitution. Further violence must be prevented.

"The apparent irregularities with the election have to be cleared up. The German government supports the demand of the European election observers for an independent investigation of the election results."

Kibaki was sworn in on Sunday after official election results showed he had narrowly beaten Odinga. Both sides have accused the other of vote-rigging.

The disputed result has ignited long-simmering tribal rivalries in one of Africa's most stable democracies and strongest economies.

About 30 villagers, including children, were killed on Tuesday when a mob set light to a church near the town of Eldoret where hundreds of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe had taken refuge in fear of their lives. (Reporting by Kate Kelland in London, Anna Willard in Paris, Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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