The violence spreads in Kyrgyzstan [Update]

As night comes to Kyrgyzstan, the violence in Osh is subsiding according to AKIpress, but the situation in general is heading south as fighting is reported in Jalalabad.  [Apologies for mistakes in translation - they are my own]

В Жалал-Абаде наблюдается 6-7 очагов пожара по улице Ленина между автовокзалом и телекомпанией ЖТР, само здание ЖТР почти сгорело.  По словам очевидцев, каждые пять минут слышны выстрелы, сотрудников милиции вообще нет, 15 машин спецназа направились в Сузакский район.

In Jalalabad 6 or 7 fires were observed burning on Lenin street between the bus station and the ZhTR broadcast station, with the broadcast station nearly consumed.  According to witnesses, every five minutes shots are heard, with still no police response, and fifteen cars of the Spetsnaz (SWAT)  in the Suzak region.

Russia Today has it that a crowd has raided/attacked a local military base.

It is another major southern city of Kyrgyzstan, also home to a large Uzbek minority and similarly close to the Uzbekistan border.  There was fighting in Jalalabad in May, as you may recall.

“The situation there (in Jalalabad) is not good, crowds are gathering, shots were heard. These are echoes of the events in Osh,” government spokesman Farid Niyazov told Reuters.

“The residents are worried … The decision has been taken … The curfew will be introduced from today.”

From World Bulletin.

The BBC has video (as does Al-Jazeera) of the refugees heading out of Osh into Uzbekistan as part of their story on the interim government’s plans to clamp down on inter-ethnic violence.  The government is discussing the mobilization of peacekeeping forces from the CSTO, meaning the combined response forces of Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Otunbaeva, I think I should have mentioned this before, has suggested that Bakiyev and his brother are directly responsible for inciting the riots.  Russia is sending aid, which might account for the reported movements of their paratroopers in the area.  Otunbaeva has addressed the nation, calling for peace and a cessation of violence.  As the situation spirals out of control, the interim government’s cries for aid have become more strident.

Interim President Roza Otunbayeva appealed to Moscow on Saturday to intervene militarily after at least 75 people were killed and 977 wounded, according to the health ministry, in nearly three days of unrest.

“Since yesterday the situation has got out of control. We need outside military forces to halt the situation. For this reason we have appealed to Russia for help,” said Otunbayeva in a nationally televised address.

[Update] Kyrgyzstan has instituted a round-the-clock curfew in the troubled cities – all citizens on the streets without papers are breaking the law and subject to punishment with extreme prejudice.  Eurasianet says Uzbekistan is being strangely slow in their reaction to the refugee situation, while Fergana.ru reiterates Otunbaeva’s assumption that the quickly approaching “South Kyrgyzstan War,” is a gift from former president Bakiev.

This post was written by...

Michael Hancock-Parmer – author of 158 posts on Registan.net.

Michael earned an MA in Central Eurasian Studies in 2011 and remains a student at Indiana University pursuing a dual PhD in Russian History and Central Eurasian Studies. He served 6 months in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan in 2005. After the events in Andijan and the subsequent closure of the program, he served 2 years in southern Kazakhstan, returning to the Midwest in 2007. His general area of interest is on post-Timur Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, centered on the Syr Darya river valley.

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