South Kyrgyzstan could destabilize further - defense minister
06/06/2006 16:09 BISHKEK, June 6 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan's defense minister warned Tuesday of possible further destabilization in the already tense south of the Central Asian republic in the near future.
"The threat of destabilization in the south of the republic is present and has been on the rise recently," Ismail Isakov told a news conference in the capital, Bishkek.
He said that Islamist groups the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Hisb-ut-Tahrir (the Islamic Liberation Party) had increased their activity in the region since a recent incursion by IMU militants from Tajikstan.
On May 12, a group of six gunmen shot its way through the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, killing at least six. In a skirmish that followed, the militants killed three special task troops, a customs officer, a border guard and a civilian and wounded nine servicemen.
Four gunmen were killed and two detained in a special operation.
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which share the strategically key Fergana Valley, have seen a rise in Islamist extremism and popular unrests fueled by economic difficulties following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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