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Concern grows over violence in
Kyrgyzstan
ETHNIC CLASH: More than 100,000 people had fled across the border, as some
ethnic Uzbeks accused government forces of taking part in the violence
AFP , OSH, KYRGYZSTAN
Tuesday, Jun 15, 2010, Page 1
An Ethnik Uzbek holds his head in his hands as
he stands beside the wreckage of his burned out home in Osh on June 14, 2010.
Deadly gun battles raged in the Kyrgyzstan city of Osh where bodies littered the
streets as ethnic violence escalated and Uzbekistan raced to cope with a massive
refugee influx.
PHOTO: AFP
Gunfire rang out across the stricken Kyrgyz city of Osh and bodies littered the
streets yesterday after three days of communal clashes that left scores dead and
sparked a refugee exodus of tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks.
Amid growing international concern over the unrest, which has left at least 117
dead and 1,000 wounded, according to an official toll, ethnic Uzbeks said many
more had been killed and accused government forces of helping Kyrgyz mobs in
their deadly rampage.
Some estimates said that 100,000 people had fled across the border into
Uzbekistan, leaving explosive tensions in Osh and other towns in southern
Kyrgyzstan.
Charred corpses lay unattended in a burned out ethnic Uzbek shop in Osh and the
streets were strewn with shell cases and wrecked cars.
Intermittent gunfire was heard, while further north in the city of Jalalabad the
violence was reportedly still in full swing.
ˇ§The situation got worse in Jalalabad,ˇ¨ Temir Sariyev, the deputy chief of
Kyrgyzstan's interim government, told reporters in Bishkek.
ˇ§There are local clashes and it is not yet possible fully to contain the
situation. Armed groups are breaking through here and there and this is linked
to the fact that our forces are insufficient to control the situation,ˇ¨ he said.
The Kyrgyz news agency AKIPress said that 2,000 people had gathered in the main
square in Jalalabad near the regional government building and that cafes and
stores were ablaze on main streets.
It said between 150 and 200 youths were marching around threatening to shoot
Uzbeks.
In Osh, Uzbek men, armed with makeshift weapons, stood on guard outside their
homes while women and children cowered in basements. An Agence-France Presse
journalist was shown video footage of the burials of dozens of bullet-ridden
bodies that residents said they had filmed since Friday.
ˇ§There are at least 1,000 dead here in Osh. We have not been able to register
them because they turn us away at the hospital and say it is only for Kyrgyz,ˇ¨
Isamidin Kudbidunov, 27, said.
Shocked residents said the violence would have repercussions for generations to
come. Some accused Kyrgyz government forces of taking part in the brutal mob
violence.
Dildor Dzhumabayev, a 38-year-old ethnic Uzbek, said people were gunned down by
armed personnel carriers that were used to clear the way for mobs on the
streets.
Kyrgyzstan is of key importance to the major powers as both the US and Russia
have military bases near the capital of the central Asian country. There is
growing international alarm over the unrest.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said yesterday she was ˇ§very
concernedˇ¨ and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his worry at the
extent of the violence on Sunday.
Kyrgyzstanˇ¦s interim president, Roza Otunbayeva, on Saturday appealed to Russia
to help quell the violence. The Kremlin has so far sent paratroopers to
reinforce its base and agreed to send humanitarian aid.
The violence exploded on Friday in Osh when ethnic Kyrgyz gangs began attacking
shops and homes of ethnic Uzbeks, igniting tensions between the two dominant
groups in the region that have simmered for a generation.
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