Supporters of ousted leader in coup bid
Source: Agencies |
May 14, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SUPPORTERS of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev have seized control of government buildings in three southern regions of the impoverished Central Asian state in an apparent coup attempt.
They seized control of government buildings in the cities of Osh, Jalalabad and Batken, kidnapped the governor of Jalalabad region and tried to take control of the area's main airport in Osh, officials said yesterday.
"The interim government views today's events in Osh ... as an attempt by former President Bakiyev's associates to regain power," government spokesman Farid Niyazov was quoted as saying by Russia's Interfax news agency.
There were no reports of deaths but the unrest was the biggest challenge to the interim government, formed last month after a popular revolt topped Bakiyev from power and forced him to flee to the former Soviet republic of Belarus.
Any worsening of tensions in the south, at the heart of Central Asia's most flammable and ethnically divided corner, would be of concern to world powers keen to maintain stability in Central Asia, a vast Muslim region north of Afghanistan.
Belarus said yesterday that its diplomats had left the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek "for security reasons."
Russia and the United States, who both have military bases in Kyrgyzstan, backed the interim government which came to power after the overthrow of Bakiyev. It was not clear how they would respond to yesterday's events.
They seized control of government buildings in the cities of Osh, Jalalabad and Batken, kidnapped the governor of Jalalabad region and tried to take control of the area's main airport in Osh, officials said yesterday.
"The interim government views today's events in Osh ... as an attempt by former President Bakiyev's associates to regain power," government spokesman Farid Niyazov was quoted as saying by Russia's Interfax news agency.
There were no reports of deaths but the unrest was the biggest challenge to the interim government, formed last month after a popular revolt topped Bakiyev from power and forced him to flee to the former Soviet republic of Belarus.
Any worsening of tensions in the south, at the heart of Central Asia's most flammable and ethnically divided corner, would be of concern to world powers keen to maintain stability in Central Asia, a vast Muslim region north of Afghanistan.
Belarus said yesterday that its diplomats had left the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek "for security reasons."
Russia and the United States, who both have military bases in Kyrgyzstan, backed the interim government which came to power after the overthrow of Bakiyev. It was not clear how they would respond to yesterday's events.
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