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Jun 14, 2010

Riots in Kyrgyzstan
Over 100 dead; Uzbeks flee Kyrgyz mobs as violence continues



The riots are the worst violence since former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a bloody uprising in April and fled the country. -- PHOTO: AFP

OSH (Kyrgyzstan) - KYRGYZ mobs burned Uzbek villages, slaughtered their residents and looted police stations yesterday in the worst ethnic rioting this Central Asian nation has seen in 20 years, sending more than 75,000 Uzbek refugees fleeing across the border into Uzbekistan. Most of the refugees were elderly people and women and children, and many had gunshot wounds, the Uzbek Emergencies Ministry said in a statement carried by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.

It said refugee camps were being set up for them in several areas of Uzbekistan. Russia yesterday also sent a battalion of about 300 paratroopers to reinforce security at its air base in Kyrgyzstan, the Interfax news agency reported. Kyrgyzstan's interim government had asked Russia for military help to quell the rioting, but the Kremlin refused on Saturday. Uzbeks fled the country in panic after their homes were torched by roving mobs of Kyrgyz men.

Some Uzbek women and children were gunned down as they tried to escape, witnesses said. More than 100 people have been killed and at least 1,000 wounded in the impoverished nation since the violence began on Thursday night. The government ordered troops to shoot rioters dead but even that failed to stop the spiralling violence. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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Ethnic Uzbeks reportedly injured during morning clashes seen at the Naramon Regional Hospital in the village of Naramon, near the Osh airport, southern Kyrgyzstan. The country's second-largest city, Osh, slid into chaos Friday when gangs of young Kyrgyz men armed with firearms and metal rods marched on Uzbek neighborhoods and set their homes on fire. --PHOTO: AP




An Ethnic Uzbek reportedly injured during morning clashes, is being treated for his wounds at the Naramon Regional Hospital in the village of Naramon,
near the Osh airport, southern Kyrgyzstan. --PHOTO: AP




Ethnic Uzbeks gather near the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border in southern Kyrgyzstan to seek refuge in Uzbekistan
from mobs of Kyrgyz men attacking the minority Uzbek community. --PHOTO: AP

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Uzbekistan's soldiers and security officers assist ethnic Uzbeks, fleeing southern Kyrgyzstan, to cross the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border after mobs of Kyrgyz men attack the minority Uzbek community, on the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border. --PHOTO: AP




Men walk past a burning building in the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan. --PHOTO: REUTERS




Soldiers ride on an armoured vehicle along a street in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan. --PHOTO: REUTERS

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A concrete block with a sign 'Kyrgyz Zone' stands in the middle of the street in the city of Osh, June 13, 2010. REUTERS/Stringer




Smoke rises from the residential area of the city of Osh June 12, 2010. REUTERS/Alexei Osokin




Soldiers sit on an armoured vehicle near a crowd on a street in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan June 11, 2010. At least 17 people were killed on Friday when ethnic conflict flared in Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city Osh, the worst outbreak of violence in the Central Asian state since the president was overthrown in April. REUTERS/Alexei Osokin

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Armed men walk along a street in the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan June 11, 2010. At least 12 people were killed and 126 were wounded during the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan on Friday, the Health Ministry said. REUTERS/Alexei Osokin




Servicemen drive armoured vehicles in the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan June 11, 2010. At least 12 people were killed and 126 were wounded during the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan on Friday, the Health Ministry said. REUTERS/Alexei Osokin




Soliders and an Interior Ministry officer stand on an armoured vehicle near a crowd on a street in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan June 11, 2010. At least 17 people were killed on Friday when ethnic conflict flared in Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city Osh, the worst outbreak of violence in the Central Asian state since the president was overthrown in April. REUTERS/Alexei Osokin




People argue on a road in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan June 11, 2010. At least 17 people were killed on Friday when ethnic conflict flared in Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city Osh, the worst outbreak of violence in the Central Asian state since the president was overthrown in April. REUTERS/Alexei Osokin

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