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Kyrgyz city of Osh still remains tense after ethnic fighting
Clashes between its main ethnic groups, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, erupted in the south on June 10 and escalated into the deadliest violence in the former Soviet republic in 20 years. At least 179 people have been killed, mainly in Osh, a low-rise city of mud-brick houses and crumbling Soviet-era architecture near the Uzbek border.
The United States and Russia have watched events with unease as both operate military air bases in Kyrgyzstan. The violence has subsided in past days but a constitutional referendum expected next week may reignite tensions. Gunfire still echoed in Osh overnight, residents said. “Death to Uzbeks” was painted in red on some house fronts.
Lined with blackened shells of cars and torched shops, Osh appeared devoid of pedestrians. Troops patrolled the area in armored personnel carriers.
A Kyrgyz soldier at one checkpoint, asked to assess the security situation, said: “Everything is relative.”
Blame
Russia and the West fear the violence could produce a vacuum and the country might then provide safe haven to militants and organized crime gangs. Analysts say any attempt to impose Islamic rule would likely fail. In the capital Bishkek, flags flew at half-mast in honor of those who died in the ethnic killings. Uzbeks and Kyrgyz have blamed the attacks on each other.
”Please stop this bloodshed. That’s enough blood,” said Valery Chulkin, a Bishkek resident. “What’s happening in the south is unbelievable.”
The new government has accused deposed president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, an ethnic Kyrgyz, of instigating the violence. Bakiyev, in exile in Belarus, has denied any involvement.
The government says it is determined to hold the referendum on June 27 to vote on constitutional changes it says will make Kyrgyzstan more democratic. But if violence flares again, the vote will be next to impossible to organize. The government has said more violence could occur around Bishkek but says it has enough forces to fend off any attacks.
The events in the south prompted 100,000 refugees to flee into Uzbekistan, most facing severe water and food shortages. The interim government said the real death toll could be much higher. The International Committee of the Red Cross says many bodies were being buried before being identified.
On the Uzbek border, hundreds of refugees were stranded, unable to cross after Uzbekistan, struggling with the influx, partially sealed the frontier on Monday. At one border post, a Reuters photographer on the Uzbek side said some people were being let though a rickety bridge across a river, the bank on the Kyrgyz side littered with rubble. The United States said Assistant Secretary Robert Blake would go to Bishkek on Friday to consult with Kyrgyz officials.
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