Clash

Ethnic Violence Upends Kyrgyzstan

Crisis could cut off U.S. supply lines.

Scores of people are dead and entire city blocks have been burned to the ground in the latest round of ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan. Though the official death toll stands at 117, other estimates are much higher; a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross claims to have seen about 100 bodies being buried in one cemetery alone. Meanwhile, at least 100,00 Uzbeks have fled Kyrgyzstan, amassing at the border. Throughout the country, violence between Kyrgyz nationalists and native Uzbeks has been flaring, in a reprise of the groups' deadly land disputes in the 1990s. A potential victim in the fallout is the coalition of troops fighting in Afghanistan, whose supply chain from a military base in the capital may be cut off amid the chaos. The base, U.S. Manas air base in Bishkek, is working with the U.S. State Department to help ensure deliveries of food and medical supplies, an air force spokesman said.