Deadly Rioting Erupts in Southern Kyrgyzstan
Kate Woodsome | Washington, D.C. 11 June 2010
Authorities in Kyrgyzstan say at least 26 people have been killed and some 400 others wounded in riots in southern city of Osh, the country's second largest. The region has been volatile since April, when President Kurmanbek Baiyev was ousted in a deadly uprising by his opponents.
But it is unclear exactly who is behind the latest violence during which rioters smashed windows with steel bars, torched cars and looted business.
All international organizations, schools and public offices in the area have shut their doors said Human Rights Watch Central Asia researcher Andrea Berg, who is in Osh.
"It's rather calm in the last hour or so and it definitely became calmer since the late morning, let's say around 10, 11, but we had shootings here the whole night and during most of the morning" said Berg. "People are basically pretty much busy protecting their homes, protecting their children, helping neighbors and so on."
Interim President Roza Otunbayeva said the conflict is being fueled by various factions who want to destabilize the country. She blames the unrest on groups who want to disrupt an upcoming constitution referendum on reducing presidential powers.
The interim government promised to hold the referendum this month and national elections in October after April's deadly uprising that toppled then-President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
Mr. Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan after his overthrow. The interim government is seeking his extradition from Belarus on charges of mass killings. Kyrgyz authorities accuse him of ordering security forces to open fire on protesters during the revolt.
Since April, supporters and opponents of the Bakiyev government have taken turns wresting control of government buildings across the country.
In addition to the recent jockeying among political factions, ethnic tensions have long been simmering between the region's Uzbek and Kyrgz communities. But Berg of Human Rights Watch said the root of the current discord is the absence of a legitimate government.
"Everybody from the local [community] that I've talked to today says that as long as there is no new parliament and no new government, the violence and the clashes will continue because the interim government doesn't have any legitimacy." Berg adds, "This of course allows all kinds of forces - be it criminal forces, be it political forces - to use the momentum for their purposes."
Both the United States and Russia have military bases in the former Soviet Republic. Since the April coup, officials from both countries have said they are watching the situation with concern.
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