Ethnic Violence in Kyrgyzstan Kills Hundreds
Armed Kyrgyz mobs patrol the streets as 75,000 ethnic Uzbeks flee to refugee camps
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 (Victor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)
Three days of clashes between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in south Kyrgyzstan have killed hundreds of people. It is the worst ethnic violence in the region in recent years.
The shooting, beatings, looting and arson are, it seems, attacks on Uzbeks by Kyrgyz. Government estimates say 117 have died in the violence so far, but Uzbek leaders claim the figure could be as high as 200.
According to the New York Times, Kyrgyz "armed with bats and bars" were still patrolling villages near the city of Osh, where the violence had been centered. The Uzbek government estimated that 75,000 people were fleeing, and that it had established refugee camps on the Uzbek side of the border.
The cause of the ethnic clashes is unclear, says the BBC, though it speculates that the recent violent ousting of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev could be to blame. "Mr Bakiyev," it reports, "still has supporters in the south of the country and there have been concerns that his overthrow might exacerbate historical tensions between the ethnic groups.
The BBC says it has seen government troops assisting the Kyrgyz mob. Video footage it obtained "appeared to show a military armoured personnel carrier being cheered on by Kyrgyz men as a military officer fires towards the Uzbeks."
Fighting, by Monday, had moved to nearby Jalalabad. President Bakiyev has denied claims that he fomented the unrest, again according to the BBC, "in order to derail a 27 June constitutional referendum and elections scheduled for October."
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