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Situation Remains Tense In South As Death Toll Reaches 124

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 14.06.2010 15:00
By RFE/RL

Kyrgyz health officials now say at least 124 people have been killed and some 1,700 wounded in riots and ethnic clashes that began in southern areas four days ago.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks from Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces are reported to have fled across the border into Uzbekistan to escape attacks by Kyrgyz gangs, who have been accused of killings and setting fire to Uzbek-operated properties.

It's the worst violence to hit the country in two decades.

No Easing

RFE/RL's correspondent in Jalal-Abad, Rysbai Abraimov, said at midday that there was no sign that the crisis there was abating.

He said there was continued gunfire on two of Jalal-Abad's main streets, as well as around the main offices of Jalal-Abad's local administration. He also saw two restaurant buildings and a private home on fire.

Abraimov reported that a large group of people, mostly young men, had gathered in the city center. They accused Kadyrjan Batyrov, a former lawmaker and Uzbek community leader, of instigating violence in the area last month.

There was an armored vehicle and a number of people carrying weapons outside the provincial administration building, Abraimov said, many from areas outside the city of Jalal-Abad, including the Talas and Issyk-Kul provinces.

The Jalal-Abad office in charge of enforcing the curfew (komendatura) told RFE/RL that electricity and gas supplies were cut off in Jalal-Abad to prevent arson attacks in the city.

The office said they have received "information from the district of Suzak outside Jalal-Abad that a group of unknown people is trying to provoke local residents, urging them to take to streets." Suzak has a sizable Uzbek minority.

In the meantime, shooting still could be heard in the neighboring city of Osh, site of the deadliest unrest. Most of the 117 victims were killed there, and houses and businesses have been set alight during riots and interethnic clashes since June 11.

Taking Flight

The website of Kyrgyzstan's interim government insisted today that the overall situation in Osh was relatively calm overnight.

"Altogether, three arson attacks were registered, which were extinguished by emergency situation forces," the government site stated. "Ten suspects in connection with the latest unrest were arrested and an investigation has begun in this regard. Also 30 vehicles without official number plates were impounded overnight."

News agencies quoted Uzbek officials as saying some 60,000 refugees from southern Kyrgyzstan were registered in Uzbekistan's Andijon border province, near the Kyrgyz border, a figure that excludes children accompanying their parents.

AFP news agency reports that refugees were being placed in camps in different districts of Andijon province.

RFE/RL correspondents in southern Kyrgyzstan say most of refugees are women, children, and the elderly, as men have largely stayed behind to protect their properties.

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that the humanitarian situation in southern Kyrgyzstan is becoming "critical."

International Concern

In Luxembourg, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said the EU was "very concerned" about the crisis.

"It is very, very important to me that we get order restored," Ashton said. "This is a very dangerous and difficult situation there."

In the meantime, Russia is reported to be considering sending military aid for Kyrgyzstan, after initially rejecting a request by interim leader Roza Otunbaeva on June 12.

The members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance of seven former Soviet republics including Kyrgyzstan, is meeting in Moscow today to discuss options to restore peace and stability in the impoverished country.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the ethnic clashes needed to be stopped as soon as possible and order restored, the Interfax news agency reported.

The previous Kyrgyz government was ousted by a popular uprising on April 7 that left more than 80 people dead.

Since then southern Kyrgyzstan – where support for ousted ex-President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been strongest – has seen frequent riots and unrest. The interim government has blamed the unrest on Bakiev supporters.

written by Farangis Najibullah, based on material by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service and agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/Situation_Remains_Tense_in_the_South_as_Death_Toll_Reaches_117/2071129.html

Copyright (c) 2010. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.