Emeutes meurtrières à Osh (Kyrgyzstan) – juin 2010

South Kyrgyzstan unrest kills 170

News Agency “24.kg”

15/06-2010 By Aizada KUTUEVA

According to official information, as of 8:00 a.m. of local time Kyrgyz unrest killed 170 people. All of them had been registered in medical establishments. Thus, 94 were registered in Osh oblast and 43 – in Jalal-Abad oblast. The Health Care Ministry of Kyrgyzstan informs.

Reportedly, a total of 1,762 have applied for medical aid, 826 were hospitalized and 798 received ambulatory medical care.

Regional hospitals provided with all the things needed. They work directly with pharmaceutical companies and received medication from storehouses. Though local hospital stay in more difficult situation and they fall short of medicaments. Nevertheless, medical humanitarian aid has already reached the region and today it will be provided for every hospital. The south hospitals have been provided with respiratory apparatus, dry-heat sterilizers and other medical equipment, the message reads.

Medical brigades also help group of refugees. As of 14 June, a breakdown at the local water tower left medical establishments of Jalal-Abad oblast without water. Due to efforts of the international organizations this issue was solved, the report said.

Death toll climbs to 113 in Kyrgyzstan riots

Reuters

Sunday, Jun. 13, 2010

Russia sent at least 150 paratroopers to Kyrgyzstan on Sunday to protect its military facilities as ethnic clashes spread in the Central Asian state, bringing the death toll from days of fighting to 113.

Ethnic Uzbeks in a besieged neighbourhood of Kyrgyzstan’s second city Osh said gangs were carrying out “genocide“, burning residents out of their homes and shooting them as they fled. Witnesses saw bodies lying on the streets.

“God help us! They are killing Uzbeks like animals. Almost the whole city is in flames,” Dilmurad Ishanov, an ethnic Uzbek human rights worker, told Reuters by telephone from Osh.

An Uzbek boy who was shot amidst Krygyz clashes recovers in a hospital in Naramon on Sunday, June 13.

Rights activists said the authorities were failing to stop the violence, and occasionally joining in.

“Residents are calling us and saying soldiers are firing at them. There’s an order to shoot the marauders, but they aren’t shooting them,” said ex-parliamentary deputy Alisher Sabirov, a peacekeeping volunteer in Osh.

Takhir Maksitov of human rights group Citizens Against Corruption said: “This is genocide.”

Renewed turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, has fuelled concern in Russia, the United States and neighbour China. Washington uses an air base at Manas in the north of the country, about 300 km (190 miles) from Osh, to supply its forces in Afghanistan.

RUSSIAN PARATROOPS ARRIVE

Several units of paratroopers arrived on Sunday to protect servicemen and families at Russia’s Kant airbase in the north of the country, a Kremlin spokesman said. A Defence Ministry spokesman said 150 armed paratroopers had been sent, while ITAR-TASS news agency, citing ministry sources, said at least 300 were dispatched.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he believed 15 Pakistani citizens were taken hostage and one killed in Osh. The Kyrgyz government said it was checking the reports.

The interim government in Kyrgyzstan, which took power in April after a popular revolt toppled president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has appealed for Russian help to quell the riots in the south.

Led by Roza Otunbayeva, the interim government has sent a volunteer force to the south and granted shoot-to-kill powers to its security forces in response to the deadly riots, which began in Osh late on Thursday before spreading to Jalalabad.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was alarmed by the scale of the clashes and ordered a special envoy to travel to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, his office said in a statement.

The Red Cross said the humanitarian situation in southern Kyrgyzstan “is becoming critical“.

“We are getting reports of severe brutality, with an intent to kill,” it said in a statement.

The upsurge in violence has killed more people than the riots that accompanied the overthrow of Bakiyev. Ms. Otunbayeva, whose government has only limited control over the south, has accused supporters of Mr. Bakiyev of stoking ethnic conflict.

Mr. Bakiyev issued a statement from exile in Belarus, describing claims he was behind the clashes as “shameless lies“.

The situation worsened in Jalalabad region, which has become “the centre of destabilising forces,” government spokesman Farid Niyazov said.

Gunmen there shot at firefighters racing to a blaze at the Uzbek-run University of Friendship of Peoples, wounding a driver, Emergencies Ministry spokesman Sultan Mamatov said.

Retired builder Habibullah Khurulayev, 69, said he was afraid to leave his apartment in the besieged district of Osh. Uzbeks armed with hunting rifles manned improvised barricades to keep out Kyrgyz gangs with automatic rifles, he said.

“They are killing us with impunity,” he said. “The police are doing nothing. They are helping them kill us … There are not many of us left to shoot.”

The Health Ministry said 113 people had been killed — 92 in Osh and 21 in Jalalabad — and 1,405 were wounded. At least five policemen have been killed, the Interior Ministry said.

“Kyrgyz groups are driving in and setting homes on fire. When the people run out, they shoot at them,” Andrea Berg, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said by telephone from Osh.

APPEAL TO RUSSIA

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan intertwine in the Fergana Valley. While Uzbeks make up 14.5 per cent of the Kyrgyz population, the two groups are roughly equal in the Osh and Jalalabad regions.

The latest clashes are the worst ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan since 1990, when then-Kremlin leader Mikhail Gorbachev sent Soviet troops into Osh after hundreds of people were killed in a dispute that started over land ownership.

Ms. Otunbayeva has asked Russia to send in troops. This appeal was renewed on Sunday by interim defence minister Ismail Isakov, who said Russian special forces could quickly end the conflict.

Russia has said it will not send in peacekeepers alone but will discuss the situation on Monday within a Moscow-led security bloc of former Soviet republics known as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday called Otunbayeva to discuss the violence, the Kremlin said.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said in a statement it was in talks with the interim government on the supply of humanitarian aid, and called for “the immediate restoration of order“.

Meanwhile, thousands of women and children have crossed the border into Uzbekistan. Cholponbek Turuzbekov, deputy commander of the Kyrgyz border service, said Uzbek authorities had since closed the border.

Russia’s RIA news agency quoted an unnamed official in the Uzbek emergency ministry official as saying that 75,000 refugees may have crossed the border. A Red Cross official in Uzbekistan said the figure was far lower, but likely in the thousands.

Ms. Berg of Human Rights Watch said she understood thousands had fled. Some had crossed the border and others were massed on the Kyrgyz side, mainly women and children.

“The men stayed. They are either dead or in Osh, trying to protect the houses that haven’t yet been set on fire.”

Death toll reaches 82 in Kyrgyzstan unrest

thenews.com.pk

Sunday, June 13, 2010

BISHKEK: Ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan has left 82 dead and more than a thousand wounded, according to revised figures released Sunday by the Kyrgyz health ministry.

The previous death toll stood at 79.

Since Thursday evening, « 82 people have been killed » during the clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbek in and around the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad, the ministry said.

According to their latest figures 1,076 have been wounded in the violence.

The interim government on Saturday expanded a state of emergency in Osh to the neighbouring region of Jalalabad, imposing curfews in a bid to contain the spreading unrest.

Since April’s deadly uprising, which ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, foreign leaders have warned of the danger of civil war in the strategically vital state, which hosts both US and Russian military bases.

Southern Kyrgyz riots leave 46 dead, over 600 injured

bne June 12, 2010 Rioting in the southern town of Osh escalated over the course of Friday with more than 1000 people involved in street fighting that left 46 dead and over 600 wounded by the end of the day, according to the health ministry. Interim government declared a state of emergency and the situation remained tense by nightfall. Extra troops were sent from the capital Bishkek to quell rioting and a curfew was imposed as the authorities struggled to regain control. Riots broke out in the country’s second largest city on Thursday night, reportedly after a fight between locals and members of the city’s Uzbek population. Despite the curfew groups of young men were still roaming the streets last night and gunshots were heard intermittently in the evening. An Interfax correspondent reported that residents of Osh built barricades to prevent rioters from approaching their homes last night. They are blocking streets with large rocks, concrete blocks, and trucks and are arming themselves with stones and sticks. Some of them possess firearms, reports Interfax. Gas supplies and power to much of Osh were cut on Friday morning, as the fighting escalated. « Periodically, one can hear gun shots here. Helicopters are flying over the city, armored vehicles moving on the roads. But people are not thinking to disperse. There are many young people with assault rifles. The people who built the barricades are not letting cars and people in there. The square is patrolled by Internal Troops soldiers, » Dzhamilya Kaparova, who chairs the Osh human rights group, Ensan Diamond, told Interfax yesterday afternoon. Fighting broke out on Friday morning as groups of young men commandeered trucks and cars to travel to Osh in what most commentators says was an uprising organised by fractions that surrounded the ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. About 1,000 people forced three vans to stop near Bishkek’s central market, after which they were occupied and left for Osh. « We will seize other buses as well so that all those wishing to go to Osh may do so, » one of the rioters told Interfax. The fighting seems to have been divided mainly along ethnic lines between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Tensions are running highest in the southeastern part of the city, which is home to the ethnic Uzbek population. By the afternoon the local interior ministry officials said they had regained some control, but the situation remained, « difficult but controllable, » the press service of the city commandant office told Interfax on Friday. More than 1,500 law enforcement officers were deployed over the course of the day and more police were called in from surrounding towns. The capital Bishkek was also destabilised by the events in Osh. A large group of 100-300 men were walking the capitals central streets, chanting various slogans and local media reports some threw rocks at policemen. Riot police moved into the western part of Bishkek and broke up a crowd of 200-300 of young men after they started to seize more cars and trucks with the intention of travelling to Osh, reports Interfax. Several hundred people moved from the central market to the parliament building to demand transport to Osh. Timur Sariyev, finance minister in the current interim government, came out to the crowd and tried to dissuade it from going to Osh and was near seized by the protestors. He was rescued at the last minute by police. The government has blamed the supporters of ousted president Bakiyev for instigating the riots in an attempt to destabilize the country ahead of a referendum to change the constitution. « According to the latest reports, yesterday’s riots were prompted by several domestic conflicts, and to our big regret the parties failed to refrain from violence, » Roza Otunbayeva, head of the interim Kyrgyz government, said in a statement issued on Friday. Inter-ethnic clashes between the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks are also fueled by supporters of the old authorities, observers said. There is a danger that the fighting will spread to other towns in the region. There were reports of similar disturbances in the southern districts of Uzgen, Karasui and Aravan, all in the Osh region. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Friday for a halt to the violence in Kyrgyzstan, his spokesman said. « The secretary general is deeply concerned about reports of renewed violence and several deaths in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, » the spokesman said in a statement. »He calls for calm to be restored and urges all involved to show the utmost restraint to prevent further losses of life, » his spokesman said. The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy expressed « deep concern » over the violence. « I call upon all involved in the clashes to cease violence immediately and allow the inhabitants of the city of Osh and the surrounding region to return to normal life, » Catherine Ashton said in a statement. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev also called on an end to the fighting during a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Meeting held in next-door Uzbekistan on Friday. « All the problems of Kyrgyzstan have internal roots. They are rooted in the weakness of the former authorities and their unwillingness to take care of the people’s needs. I believe all the existing problems will be resolved by the Kyrgyz authorities. The Russian Federation will help, » he said. Some 280 Kyrgyz have been applying to the Russian embassy for visas since fighting began in April. Kyrgyz health officials said relief planes carrying a group of 27 doctors and humanitarian aid set off from Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, to Osh earlier in the day.

Violences au Kirghizstan: 45 morts et 637 blessés

ap

11 06 2010

BICHKEK, Kirghizstan (AP) — Des groupes d’hommes armés ont incendié vendredi des quartiers ouzbeks à Och, dans le sud du Kirghizstan, lors d’affrontements ethniques qui ont fait au moins 45 morts et 637 blessés. Le gouvernement intérimaire a proclamé l’état d’urgence dans cette ville et envoyé des véhicules blindés et des soldats pour ramener le calme.

L’intensité du conflit opposant des Kirghizes à des Ouzbeks, minoritaires dans la population, semble avoir pris les autorités par surprise.

Plusieurs dizaines de bâtiments de la deuxième ville du pays, Och, étaient en flammes vendredi. Des témoins ont rapporté que des tirs étaient entendus depuis tard jeudi soir. Des gangs de jeunes hommes armés de barres métalliques et de pierres s’en sont pris à des magasins et ont incendié des voitures, selon les médias locaux.

La plupart des blessés ont été soignés pour des coups de couteau et des blessures par balles, a précisé la porte-parole du ministère de la Santé, Ielena Bailinova. Plusieurs dizaines étaient dans un état jugé grave.

Un médecin, dans un hôpital d’Och, a affirmé que le bilan des victimes pourrait être beaucoup plus élevé parce que de nombreux Ouzbeks seraient trop effrayés pour demander des soins.

Ces nouvelles violences, liées à des rivalités ethniques, surviennent à une période cruciale pour le Kirghizstan, indépendant depuis l’effondrement de l’URSS en 1991. Il organise un référendum le 27 juin sur une nouvelle Constitution après les révoltes d’avril qui ont fait 85 morts et conduit au départ du président Kourmanbek Bakiev.

La gestion de cette crise va constituer un test potentiellement décisif sur la capacité du gouvernement provisoire à contrôler le pays et organiser des élections en octobre.

Le secrétaire général de l’ONU, Ban Ki-moon, a exprimé sa profonde inquiétude et a appelé au calme, selon le porte-parole adjoint de l’ONU Farhan Haq. Ban Ki-moon a aussi exhorté le gouvernement intérimaire « à prêter particulièrement attention aux relations interethniques dans le pays ». AP

Twelve killed in new wave of unrest in Kyrgyzstan

AP

11 06 2010

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Riots in south Kyrgyzstan have killed at least 12 people and injured more than 120, officials said Friday, as fears grew of a new cycle of violence in the Central Asian nation.

Witnesses in Osh, the country’s second-largest city, reported hearing sustained gunfire late Thursday. Local media also reported that gangs of young men armed with sticks and stones smashed shop windows and set cars alight in the center.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Yelena Bailinova said 12 people have been killed and more than 120 injured. Many of the injured were being treated for gunshot wounds, she said.

Interim authorities swiftly declared a state of emergency in the city and dispatched armored vehicles and troops to the city in a bid to pacify the situation.

But local residents said shooting continued into the morning and helicopters were flying low overhead. Several buildings across the city were on fire.

Kyrgyzstan has been enjoying an uneasy calm since a mass revolt in April led to the overthrow of then-President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Quelling the disturbances in Osh will prove a decisive test of the provisional government’s ability to control the country.

The mood in south has been tense, however, since five people were killed and dozens injured during two seperate clashes in the town of Jalal-Abad, which is about about 70 kilometers (45 miles) from Osh.

It is unclear what caused the latest round of unrest, but local Kyrgyz media have reported that a brawl broke out late Thursday evening on the city’s main thoroughfare.

One Osh resident told The Associated Press that he heard a 10-minute-long burst of gunfire shortly past midnight. Local media said they received reports of firing throughout the night.

Osh, which lies on the fringes of the volatile Ferghana Valley, has a large Uzbek minority and a history of ethnic violence. There seemed to be no clear evidence that the violence was provoked by ethnic tensions, however.

Russian news agency Interfax reported that seven armored personnel vehicles carrying soldiers drove into the center early Friday.

The interim government has declared a state of emergency in Osh and surrounding districts that will remain in effect until June 20. A curfew has been imposed from 8 p.m to 6 a.m.

In an emotional televised address Friday, interim President Roza Otunbayeva called for a return to calm.

« I would like to appeal in particular to the women of Kyrgyzstan. Dear sisters, find the right words for your sons, husbands and brothers. In the current situation, it is unacceptable to indulge in feelings of revenge and anger, » she said.

Violences dans le sud du Kirghizstan: 12 morts, plus de 100 blessés

Romandie News

11 06 2010

BICHKEK – Douze personnes ont été tuées et plus de 100 blessées dans les violents affrontements de la nuit à Och et dans plusieurs districts voisins du sud du pays, a indiqué vendredi matin à l’AFP un porte-parole du ministère kirghiz de la Santé.

« Dans la région de Och, le nombre de morts dans les violences s’élève désormais à douze personnes », a indiqué ce porte-parole ayant requis l’anonymat.

Au moins 126 personnes reçoivent des soins à l’hôpital pour des blessures consécutives aux affrontements, qui ont commencé jeudi soir à Och, a-t-il ajouté.

Le gouvernement provisoire du Kirghizstan, qui a pris le pouvoir après un soulèvement populaire en avril, a décrété à partir de vendredi l’état d’urgence et un couvre-feu à Och, bastion du président déchu Kourmanbek Bakiev, et dans les districts voisins de Karassou, d’Aravan et d’Ouzgen .

Des affrontements et des échanges de tirs entre des groupes de jeunes se sont produits dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi. Selon des témoins, ils ont pour origine une bagarre entre Kirghizs et Ouzbeks.

Six killed in Kyrgyzstan riots

Reuters

11 06 2010

Six people have been killed after violence erupted in Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest city Osh, prompting the interim government to declare a state of emergency and send in armoured vehicles.

Hundreds of youths fought with steel bars and set shops and cars ablaze.

The government, led by Roza Otunbayeva, described it as a « local conflict » possibly sparked by an argument in a casino, but the violence in the southern power base of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was likely to stoke fears of ethnic clashes.

Bakiyev was deposed in April as leader of the impoverished Central Asian country in a popular revolt that raised concern among regional players Russia, China and the United States. The country hosts both a Russian and a US military base.

His supporters briefly seized government buildings in the south on May 13, defying central authorities in Bishkek.

Six people were killed and 68 were injured in Friday’s violence, some with gunshot wounds, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said.

The Interior Ministry said five people had been detained and that the situation in Osh was « strained ». A ministry spokesman said preliminary information suggested the violence could have started in a casino.

Several shops were still on fire near the mayor’s office in central Osh, a Reuters witness said. A crowd had gathered and gunfire could be heard.

The interim government declared the state of emergency in Osh and three surrounding regions after holding an emergency meeting in the early hours of Friday, a spokesman for the government said.

« Roza Otunbayeva announced that the interim government will deploy all of its available resources and is sure that security will be provided for its citizens, » the spokesman, Farid Niyazov, said by telephone.

Ismail Isakov, defence minister in the interim government, flew to Osh immediately after the emergency meeting. Isakov was recently appointed by the interim government as its special representative for southern Kyrgyzstan.

Interior Minister Bolot Sherniyazov has also flown to Osh, a city of more than 200,000 people in the volatile Fergana valley.

For political risks in Kyrgyzstan, click on

For facts about southern Kyrgyzstan, click on

TURMOIL

Kyrgyzstan, which won independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, has been in turmoil since the revolt that toppled Bakiyev on April 7, kindling fears of civil war.

Six killed in Kyrgyzstan riots

Reuters

11 06 2010

Political tensions between the agricultural south and the north of Kyrgyzstan exist alongside ethnic and clan rivalries.

Niyazov said between 1,000 and 3,000 people had been involved in the overnight violence, fighting with steel bars and their bare hands in the streets.

« More than 500 people have arrived in hospital overnight with knife wounds, » a doctor at a hospital in Osh told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The crowds dispersed after troops and armoured vehicles were sent into the city, Niyazov said. He said the state of emergency would remain in force until June 20.

Ethnic unrest between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks is a concern in the Fergana valley where Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan intertwine.

Two people were killed and 74 were wounded on May 19 in clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the city of Jalalabad. On the same day, Otunbayeva said she would rule the country until 2011, scrapping earlier plans for presidential polls in October.

Jalalabad has also been the scene of fierce clashes between supporters of the interim government and those of Bakiyev, who is in exile in Belarus.

The Fergana valley, which also includes parts of Tajikistan, is a particularly volatile part of Central Asia. In 1990, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, hundreds of people were killed in ethnic clashes near Osh.

Of Kyrgyzstan’s 5.3 million population, ethnic Kyrgyz make up 69.6 percent, Uzbeks 14.5 percent and Russians 8.4 percent.

The mix is more even in the south. Uzbeks comprise about 40 percent of the 1 million population in the Jalalabad region and about 50 percent in the neighbouring region of Osh.

Four killed, dozens injured in southern Kyrgyz riots

APA

11 Jun 2010 08:03 

Baku-. At least four people were killed and 53 taken to hospitals on Friday following riots in Kyrgyzstan’s second largest city of Osh in the south of the country, Kyrgyzstan’s health ministry said, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

« A total of 53 injured are currently in hospitals in the Osh region. Four died, seven are in serious condition, » a health ministry spokeswoman Svetlana Baitikova said, adding that the death toll reports are currently being verified.

Acting deputy health minister flew to the region to coordinate medical assistance to those injured.

Riots in downtown Osh under control, shots heard in suburbs

© RIA Novosti

11/06/2010

Late on Thursday, violence broke out in various districts of Osh reportedly following a mass brawl between various groups of young people. Groups of youths rampaged through the city, setting cars on fire and breaking shop windows.

The cause of the riots is unknown as participants have not put forward any demands so far.

The interim government imposed a curfew in the city and its area, and declared the state of emergency.

Troops regained control over most of the downtown area of the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, but shots are still heard in suburbs, an eyewitness told RIA Novosti by phone on Friday.

The situation in most areas of downtown Osh is mainly calm, but shots are fired in suburbs, where armored vehicles were called in to deal with the riots. There are reports of injuries, but they have not been officially confirmed.

Late on Thursday, violence broke out in various districts of Osh reportedly following a mass brawl between various groups of young people. Groups of youths rampaged through the town, setting cars on fire and breaking shop windows. Later a huge crowd gathered in the center, near the hotel of Alai.

The ferghana.ru website said that according to unconfirmed media reports the brawl was between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. But its correspondent said he saw no signs that the violence was ethnically motivated.

« It doesn’t look like ethnically motivated riots. It’s just a wild mob and there is no idea of what they want, » a ferghana.ru correspondent reported, adding that he heard shouts « in both Kyrgyz and Uzbek » before a stone flew into his window.

The cause of the riots is unknown as participants have not put forward any demands so far.

The interim government imposed a curfew in the city and its area, and declared the state of emergency.

Southern regions of Kyrgyzstan are considered a traditional stronghold of former president Kurmanbek Bakieyv, who took refuge there after being deposed in violent opposition riots in the capital Bishkek in April. He later fled to Belarus.

In mid-May, supporters of the deposed president staged large-scale protests in Osh and another southern city Jalal-Abad. They seized provincial administration buildings but the protests were suppressed by police and military forces. About 50 protestors were reported to be injured during the unrest.

Informations

Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош) is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the « capital of the south ». The city is 3,000 years old. It is notorious in the Russian-speaking world for the bloody interethnic Osh riots of 1990.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 11 juin 2010.