Russia sends troops into Krgyzstan as ethnic clashes spread

[57Chevy]

Kyrgyzstan toll 'much higher':

Roza Otunbayeva, the interim president, visited the city of Osh, epicentre of the violence and said the number fatalities was likely to be 10 times the official death toll of 223. The UN warned that it was preparing to provide long-term assistance for one million people.

Mrs Otunbayeva arrived in Osh by helicopter to inspect the damage inflicted by mobs that her government accuses toppled president Kurmanbek Bakiyev of organizing.

She said many of the victims were buried before sunset on first day of the fighting. "I would increase by 10 times the official data on the number of people killed," Mrs Otunbayeva added.

A UN aid airlift into Kyrgyzstan was scheduled to begin this weekend. Two chartered Ilyushin-76 cargo planes carrying 80 tons of relief items are expected to arrive in Osh.

(aqrticle continues)

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Kyrgyzstan+toll+much+higher/3170304/story.html#ixzz0rES9LgUk

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[sky777]

Not entirely silent....
20 May 10:  "Secretary-General Urges Calm, Restraint as Two Die in Kyrgyzstan Ethnic Clashes"
11 Jun 10:  "Secretary-General Deeply Concerned by Renewed Violence in Kyrgyzstan; Urges Utmost Restraint to Prevent Further Loss of Life"

Others have already highlighted, better than I could, how "simple" an international response to this would be.

In my opinion it is time to send UN peacemakers.

 

[57Chevy]

U.S. urges Kyrgyzstan to end humanitarian crisis:

BISHKEK, June 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. envoy for Central Asia urged Kyrgyzstan on Saturday to create conditions for a safe return of hundreds of thousands of refugees uprooted by last week’s outburst of ethnic violence.

The clashes have killed up to 2,000 people and set off a massive wave of refugees, with 400,000 people crammed in squalid camps with little access to clean water and food on Kyrgyzstan’s sun-parched border with Uzbekistan.

Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, speaking after talks with Kyrgyz officials, said an international investigation must be held into the possible causes of the violence.

"It is important for the provisional government to establish the atmosphere of trust and security so the refugees in Uzbekistan and the internally displaced persons in Kyrgyzstan can feel confident that they can return to their homes and live in safety and harmony with their Kyrgyz neighbours," he said.

"I think clearly there was an ethnic element to the violence that took place. But the United States does not have any independent information about what happened ..."

Kyrgyzstan’s tiny, under-equipped army has struggled to bring order to the south and relief organisations have been unable to reach the worst-affected areas for security reasons.

Some Kyrgyz officials have said a referendum on a new constitution, due be held on June 27, should be postponed until the situation stabilises.

The United States and Russia, both operating military air bases in the strategic Muslim nation, are concerned that continued turmoil in Kyrgyzstan could spread to other parts of Central Asia, a vast former Soviet region north of Afghanistan.

(article continues)

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/urges+Kyrgyzstan+humanitarian+crisis/3176303/story.html#ixzz0rJiQmtnb

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[57Chevy]

Canada to give $500,000 to conflict-plagued Kyrgyzstan:

OTTAWA — Canada will provide $500,000 in assistance to those affected by the violent clashes in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where as many as 2,000 people have been killed this month.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said Saturday the funds would support the International Committee of the Red Cross to evaluate the needs of the conflict-stricken population, which the UN estimates is about one million people.

“Canada’s support to the displaced people in their time of crisis once again demonstrates that Canadians will help those in need,” Oda said in a statement. “This contribution will provide humanitarian support to those fleeing conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan, leaving their homes in fear.”

The bloody clashes erupted on June 10 with a series of co-ordinated attacks by unknown individuals. It quickly spiralled into fierce fighting between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, and entire neighbourhoods have since been torched.

As many as 400,000 people have been uprooted as a result, creating massive refugee camps along the border of the two countries.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Canada+give+conflict+plagued+Kyrgyzstan/3176704/story.html#ixzz0rLBnU9kk

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[57Chevy]

New Raid By Kyrgyz Forces Against Uzbeks Reported:

OSH, Kyrgyzstan (AP) ― Human Rights Watch says Kyrgyz government forces have raided an ethnic Uzbek neighborhood in Osh city, beating several dozen men and women and detaining 12.

Tuesday's operation in Kyrgyzstan came a day after Kyrgyz troops and police swept into an ethnic Uzbek village on Osh's outskirts, leaving at least 2 people dead and more than 20 wounded.

The brutal raids have reinforced the Uzbeks' claims that authorities are colluding in the ethnic violence. The violence also is likely to discourage hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have fled Kyrgyzstan's violence from returning home.

Human Rights Watch says Kyrgyz troops broke into a building in Osh's Cheryomushki neighborhood Tuesday. It was one of the few surviving buildings in the area.

http://wjz.com/wireapnational/Rights.group.reports.2.1764923.htm

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[57Chevy]

I kinda figured the Taliban was part of the violence. Seeing that there is a U.S. Airbase that brings supplies to the troops.
        _____________________________________________________________________

Kyrgyz authorities claim former president's family colluded with Taliban to stir up violence:

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — Kyrgyzstan's security agency claimed Thursday that relatives of the toppled president colluded with the Taliban and other Islamic militant movements to provoke the ethnic violence that has destabilized the Central Asian nation.

The agency provided no evidence and there was no way of independently confirming the claim, which added to a series of allegations and counter-allegations about the cause of the violence issued by rival groups in Kyrgyzstan.

The security agency said two of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's relatives met last month in Afghanistan with representatives of the Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Tajik militants to discuss plans to trigger unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

(article continues)

Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/24/kyrgyz-authorities-claim-presidents-family-colluded-taliban-stir-violence/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fworld+%28Text+-+World%29

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[57Chevy]

Russia alarms West with plan for Kyrgyzstan military base:

Russia plans to build a second military base in Kyrgyzstan in a bold gambit likely to alarm Washington and other countries in the region.

The Kremlin tried and failed to win approval for the base in the south of the country last year and saw its chances evaporate when the man with whom it was close to making a deal, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was deposed in a coup earlier this year.

But the Kremlin has quietly revived the plan as the interim government that succeeded Mr Bakiyev struggles to maintain order after an outbreak of ethnic violence in the south of the country that left more than 200 people dead. The base, to be located in either Osh or Jalalabad, would extend Russia's influence deep into Central Asia and bolster its position with both China and the United States.

The plan - which comes less than a week after Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, said he thought a U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan that supplied fuel and troops for the war effort in Afghanistan should not become a permanent fixture - is likely to be seen as an aggressive counter thrust.

"This is all about restoring the influence Russia lost when the Soviet Union collapsed," said one Russian analyst. Kyrgyzstan already has a Russian airbase and is the only country in the world with a Russian and a U.S. base.

(article cotinues)

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Russia+alarms+West+with+plan+Kyrgyzstan+military+base/3196904/story.html#ixzz0roCX3v2A


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[57Chevy]

Interesting to note is the Russians stating, "that the crisis was ultimately an internal matter"
              _______________________________________________________
U.N. Tells Security Council Kyrgyz Tensions Persist:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A top U.N. official warned the Security Council on Thursday that ethnic tensions in Kyrgyzstan continue, along with fears that there could be another wave of violence in the strategic Central Asian state.

As expected, the 15-nation Security Council took no action. But diplomats said the council's decision to discuss the ethnic bloodshed in Kyrgyzstan that has killed hundreds and sparked a wave of refugees reflected the growing international concern.

(article continues)
Read more:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=11007327

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