Bloodbath in Kyrgyzstan leaves at least 100 dead
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2010, Monday
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Kyrgyz mobs burned Uzbek villages, slaughtered residents and stormed police stations seeking more weapons yesterday as ethnic rioting engulfed new areas in southern Kyrgyzstan.
The interim government in the Central Asian nation ordered troops to shoot rioters dead but even that failed to stop violence that has left more than 100 people dead and about 1,250 wounded since Thursday night.
Doctors and activists said the official toll was too low because wounded minority Uzbeks were too afraid of being attacked to go to hospitals.
The riots are the worst violence since former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a bloody uprising in April and fled the country. The Uzbeks have backed the interim government, while many Kyrgyz in the south support the toppled president.
Fires set by rioters have destroyed most of Osh, the country's second-largest city, and looters have stolen most of its food. Triumphant crowds of Kyrgyz men took control of most of Osh yesterday while the few Uzbeks still in the city of 250,000 barricaded themselves in their neighborhoods.
Fires continued to rage across Osh and occasional shots were heard. Police were nowhere to be seen.
The rampage spread quickly yesterday to Jalal-Abad, another major southern city, and its neighboring villages, as mobs methodically set Uzbek houses, stores and cafes on fire.
The rioters seized an armored vehicle and automatic weapons at a military unit and attacked police stations trying to get more firearms.
Police and the military appeared to be on the defensive across the south, avoiding clashes. Flights to both Osh and Jalal-Abad were canceled.
Interim President Roza Otunbayeva blamed Bakiyev's family for instigating the unrest in Osh, saying it was aimed at derailing a constitutional referendum on June 27 and new elections scheduled for October.
A local official said Bakiyev supporters had attacked both Kyrgyz and Uzbeks to ignite the rioting. "Bakiyev's entourage has funded and organized these riots," Otunbayeva's deputy Omurbek Tekebayev said.
From his self-imposed exile in Belarus, Bakiyev issued a statement denying any role in the violence and blaming the interim authorities for failing to protect the population.
Bakiyev was propelled to power in 2005 on a wave of street protests, but his authority collapsed amid growing corruption allegations, worsening living conditions and repression.
Otunbayeva asked Russia for military help but the Kremlin refused, saying it would not meddle in an internal conflict. Russia did send a plane to deliver humanitarian supplies and evacuate some victims.
Kyrgyzstan hosts United States and Russian military air bases, but they are in the north, far from the fighting.
The US Manas air base in the capital, Bishkek, is a crucial supply hub for the coalition fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. A Pentagon spokesman said the interim government had not asked for any US military help.
The interim government in the Central Asian nation ordered troops to shoot rioters dead but even that failed to stop violence that has left more than 100 people dead and about 1,250 wounded since Thursday night.
Doctors and activists said the official toll was too low because wounded minority Uzbeks were too afraid of being attacked to go to hospitals.
The riots are the worst violence since former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a bloody uprising in April and fled the country. The Uzbeks have backed the interim government, while many Kyrgyz in the south support the toppled president.
Fires set by rioters have destroyed most of Osh, the country's second-largest city, and looters have stolen most of its food. Triumphant crowds of Kyrgyz men took control of most of Osh yesterday while the few Uzbeks still in the city of 250,000 barricaded themselves in their neighborhoods.
Fires continued to rage across Osh and occasional shots were heard. Police were nowhere to be seen.
The rampage spread quickly yesterday to Jalal-Abad, another major southern city, and its neighboring villages, as mobs methodically set Uzbek houses, stores and cafes on fire.
The rioters seized an armored vehicle and automatic weapons at a military unit and attacked police stations trying to get more firearms.
Police and the military appeared to be on the defensive across the south, avoiding clashes. Flights to both Osh and Jalal-Abad were canceled.
Interim President Roza Otunbayeva blamed Bakiyev's family for instigating the unrest in Osh, saying it was aimed at derailing a constitutional referendum on June 27 and new elections scheduled for October.
A local official said Bakiyev supporters had attacked both Kyrgyz and Uzbeks to ignite the rioting. "Bakiyev's entourage has funded and organized these riots," Otunbayeva's deputy Omurbek Tekebayev said.
From his self-imposed exile in Belarus, Bakiyev issued a statement denying any role in the violence and blaming the interim authorities for failing to protect the population.
Bakiyev was propelled to power in 2005 on a wave of street protests, but his authority collapsed amid growing corruption allegations, worsening living conditions and repression.
Otunbayeva asked Russia for military help but the Kremlin refused, saying it would not meddle in an internal conflict. Russia did send a plane to deliver humanitarian supplies and evacuate some victims.
Kyrgyzstan hosts United States and Russian military air bases, but they are in the north, far from the fighting.
The US Manas air base in the capital, Bishkek, is a crucial supply hub for the coalition fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. A Pentagon spokesman said the interim government had not asked for any US military help.
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