Putin-Allied President of Kyrgyzstan Forced to Resign After Week of Mass Protests

The president of Kyrgyzstan has resigned following 10 days of mass unrest in the wake of a disputed election, saying that he felt he had to leave his post to stop mass protests from turning deadly. In a statement, Sooronbai Jeenbekov said: “Blood will be inevitably shed. I urge both sides not to fall for provocations... I do not want to go down in Kyrgyzstan’s history as a president who shed blood and shot at his own citizens.” Kyrgyzstan, an ally of Russia, has been in turmoil since its parliamentary election this month. The opposition rejected the results after Jeenbekov’s allies were declared the winners, and opposition supporters took to the streets. Authorities annulled the vote, and Jeenbekov announced last week that he would resign. He then tried to delay his exit, before succumbing to the inevitable and stepping down Thursday.