NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Pope Francis yesterday warned of the need to tackle poverty as a key driver of conflict and violence as he kicked off a landmark Africa trip fraught with security concerns.

And he urged Kenya’s leaders to work with “transparency” to ensure a fair distribution of national resources as criticism grows over runaway graft in this east African country.

“Experience shows that violence, conflict and terrorism feed on fear, mistrust, and the despair born of poverty and frustration,” the 78-year-old pontiff said after talks with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta in the capital Nairobi.

His remarks were made at the outset of a six-day tour spanning Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic (CAR), which have significant Catholic communities but have been troubled by civil conflicts and violence.

In recent weeks, Islamist militants have stepped up a campaign of bloody attacks, killing hundreds of people in assaults in France, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Mali.

Both Kenya and Uganda have in recent years suffered major attacks by Al-Qaeda’s East Africa branch, the Shebab, because they have troops deployed in Somalia.

The pope also urged the Kenyan leadership to ensure the “just distribution” of resources in a country where 75 per cent of the wealth is owned by one per cent of the population.

“I encourage you to work with integrity and transparency for the common good, and to foster a spirit of solidarity at every level of society,” he said, in comments alluding to the corruption and inequality that blights the country.

“I ask you in particular to show genuine concern for the needs of the poor, the aspirations of the young, and a just distribution of the natural and human resources with which the Creator has blessed your country.”

The pontiff’s remarks were made as the east African nation faces growing international pressure to rein in rampant corruption.