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Gunfire at Rally for Deposed Kyrgyzstan President

   VOA News 15 April 2010
   Some  supporters  of  Kyrgyzstan's deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
   hold guns during a rally in the city of Osh

Photo: AP

   Some  supporters  of  Kyrgyzstan's deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
   hold  guns  during a rally in the city of Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan, 15
   Apr 2010

   Witnesses say gunfire erupted a rally in Kyrgyzstan's southern city of
   Osh Thursday, where ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was speaking.
   Mr.  Bakiyev had just begun addressing the 2,000-strong crowd when the
   shots began. Â
   It  is  not  clear  who  fired the first shots, but television footage
   shows a group of Bakiyev opponents approaching the podium where he was
   speaking.  Mr.  Bakiyev's  bodyguards lined up in front of the deposed
   president to protect him and fired into the air.
   Supporters  of the interim government had been holding their own rally
   just 300 meters away.
   There were no immediate reports of casualties.
   Witnesses  say  after  the  shots  Mr.  Bakiyev  retreated to a nearby
   theater with his bodyguards and then they drove away.
   Mr.  Bakiyev  fled  Kyrgyzstan's  capital,  Bishkek,  last  week after
   several  days of anti-government protests, during which pro-government
   forces  fired on the demonstrators. The official death toll is 84, but
   opposition leaders say more than 100 were killed.
   The  interim  government, which took power after Mr. Bakiyev fled, has
   demanded   Mr.   Bakiyev   leave  the  country  and  stand  before  an
   international tribunal.
   Mr.  Bakiyev  has  said  he  may  hand  in a formal resignation if the
   interim  government guarantees he and his family will be safe and that
   their property will not be seized.
   The  U.S.  State  Department says it is not taking sides in Kyrgyzstan
   and only wants to see the situation resolved peacefully.
   U.S.  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  Robert Blake was in the country
   Wednesday for talks with interim leader Roza Otunbayeva.
   Blake says the U.S. would support a new constitution and parliamentary
   elections in Kyrgyzstan.
   Otunbayeva told VOA she believes ousted President Bakiyev is promising
   to unleash more bloodshed if forces loyal to her move against him.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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