Tens of Thousands Flee Kyrgyzstan Following Ethnic Clashes; At Least 100 Dead (Video)
Posted by Jim Hoft on Sunday, June 13, 2010, 10:13 AM
Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks fled Kyrgyzstan today following the third day of fighting in the south of the country. At least 100 people were killed in the ethnic violence.
The Express Tribune has video:
As unrest grips the south of Kyrgyzstan leaving some 86dead and a thousand wounded, interim government officials have given shoot-to-kill powers to security forces.
The President of Kyrgyzstan blamed the ousted opposition leader for the violence.
The AP reported:
Kyrgyz mobs burned Uzbek villages and slaughtered their residents Sunday in the worst ethnic rioting this Central Asian nation has seen in 20 years, sending more than 75,000 Uzbeks fleeing across the border into Uzbekistan.
Most of the Uzbek refugees were elderly people, 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.
Fires set by rioters have destroyed most of Osh, the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, and food was scarce after widespread looting. Triumphant crowds of Kyrgyz men took control of Osh on Sunday as the few Uzbeks still left in the city of 250,000 barricaded themselves in their neighborhoods. Fires continued to rage across Osh and shots were heard but police were nowhere to be seen.
The rioting has significant political overtones. Former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a bloody uprising in April and fled the country. Uzbeks have backed Kyrgyzstan’s interim government, while many Kyrgyz in the south support the toppled president.
Interim President Roza Otunbayeva blamed Bakiyev’s family for instigating the unrest, saying it aimed to derail a June 27 constitutional referendum and new elections scheduled for October. A local official in the south said Bakiyev supporters had attacked both Kyrgyz and Uzbeks to ignite the rioting.
Kyrgyzstani blogger Tolkun has photos and gruesome video from the “massacre.” He says the death toll is much much higher than the official figures, as people are still finding dead corpses around Osh.
The Registan is, of course, following the developments.
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Featured Story:
Franklin Graham On Obama’s Faith – “He Seems More Concerned About Muslims Than Christians Murdered by Muslims” (Video)
Published February 21, 2012 at 12:03 pm - 61 Comments
wimple commented:
Just an excuse to let the Russians take over the country and put them back in the new USSR….
MaxTruth commented:
Which side is Muslim?
Joan of Argghh! commented:
“Oh, it could never happen here!”
-Progressive Pollyanna
Der Nister commented:
The United Nations Security Counci is convening an emergency session on this later today. Oops spoke to soon. The security council will be dealing with the ketchup shortage in Gaza.
aro5o75 commented:
MaxTruth,
That was my first thought also.
TH commented:
Uzbeks come from a predominantly Sunni Muslim background, usually of the Hanafi school,[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbeks
jonyjoe101 commented:
Both sides are sunni muslim, just one side is richer than the other side. Muslim on muslim crime, doesn’t take too much to set them off on rioting.
They could be rioting over there team losing a soccer match. More than likely they will blame “Bush” for the problem.
Even the Russians don’t want to get involved in this muslim conflict, it’s a losing situation for everyone.
I just hope the refugees don’t come to the US, we don’t need more “peaceful” people here.
Andreas K. commented:
I don’t think that the “religion of peace”(tm) has anything to do with this particular one. I think it’s more over who gets the power and who gets to oppress the people more.
Though, on the long run… who knows. The “religion of peace”(tm) has the strange habit of getting involved in such things sooner or later.
Personally it’s what I’m expecting to happen in all those former USSR areas in the east. They only know two forms of government: soviet-style communism and power being taken by the one with the biggest guns.
I’m curious though, what will the UN do? Oh wait, they’re too busy bashing Israel.
Robert commented:
Speaking of the Religion of Peace, I understand
there was some rioting in Sweden this week.
Oh wait, my mistake. The press only referred to
“youths” in the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
shibumi commented:
How long before Obama chastises the Uzbeks for “acting stupidly?”
Sojourner commented:
.. and Obama?…. I assume he’s out out golfing
today.
Kenny Solomon commented:
It started in earnest back in April.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kyrgyzstan/7563954/Street-battles-leave-Kyrgyzstan-on-brink-of-revolution.html
I’ve been trying to follow it ever since.
Until just a few days ago, this wasn’t being reported anywhere in US media. It’s still not really mentioned much – understandable.
Two days ago, Kyrgyzstan asked Russia for troops and help. Russia said NYET about 24 hours later.
Overnight, a shoot-to-kill order was made by the Kyrgyzstan government.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=59888
Kyrgyzstan will send reserve forces and volunteers to its troubled south on Sunday after a third night of gun battles took the death toll to 80 in the Central Asian state’s worst ethnic violence in two decades.
The move comes as the interim government of Kyrgyzstan granted “shoot-to-kill powers” to its security forces after deadly riots between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement it would send a “volunteer force” to the south because the situation in Osh and Jalalabad regions — strongholds of ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev — remained “complex and tense”.
=================
This is getting out of hand very quickly.
— — — — —
Kenny Solomon
Jew.
American.
Heavily armed.
Never again means NEVER AGAIN !
I know who’s ass to kick.
wolf t. commented:
Just a fun-raising break between calling for the destruction of Israel and the Jews.
Regular programming to resume shortly.
serfer62 commented:
I like the Uzbeks…spent 17 months there deployed a couple of years ago. The kry boarder isn’t the dividing line between the two countrues as both are bothsides of the boarder.
Last riots were because of the crooked govorment. The krys also have more capitolistic industries anyway but the govorment was still solalistic.
Something isn’t right here…